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TRAINING CHILDREN 
TO STUDY 

Practical Suggestions 


L> i 

BESSIE W. STILLMAN 

ETHICAL CULTURE SCHOOL 
NEW YORK CITY 


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D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY 


BOSTON 

ATLANTA 




NEW YORK CHICAGO 

SAN FRANCISCO DALLAS 

LONDON 


"9 ' 0 ^ 

< 3 % 


Copyright, 1928, 

By D. C. Heath and Company 
2 p 8 



PRINTED IN U. S. A. 


JUL 21 1928 

©C1M083318 


To the memory of 

MARGARET VAN DYCK WIGHT 

Principal of a Branch of the Ethical Culture School 
1893-1904 


She was an inspiration to her colleagues, 
a guide and playmate of the children 
under her care. 



PREFACE 


It is a mistake to suppose that a child who is given no 
suggestions as to methods of study but time and again is 
merely told to study such and such a lesson, will go about 
it with any definite plan. He will probably do one of two 
things; simply read it through once or twice, trusting to 
luck that he will remember enough to be able to answer 
any questions the teacher may ask, or he will attempt to 
memorize it en bloc , thinking that then surely the correct 
answer will be forthcoming. 

Under such circumstances the emphasis is placed on the 
absorption of as large an amount of material as possible, 
not on the understanding of the material; and on marks 
rather than on gain in power. 

If we are to produce citizens who will react intelligently 
to the life about them, we must teach children to analyze 
the subject matter with which they deal, to discriminate 
between important and minor points, to trace causal re¬ 
lations, to estimate ethical values, to question the validity 
of statements, to suspend judgment until data have been 
accumulated sufficient to justify generalization. 

The following pages constitute an attempt to outline the 
work which has been done along these lines in the Fifth, 
Sixth, and Seventh Grades of one department of the Ethical 
Culture School. 

The greater part of the book is given over to a discussion 
of the content subjects, history, geography, and so forth, 
rather than to the tool subjects . 1 While there are both 

1 This subject is amplified in the chapter on “Mastery of Certain Com¬ 
mon Tools,” pp. 211-229. 

v 


VI 


PREFACE 


better and poorer methods of drill, the goal obvious to 
pupil as well as to teacher in the case of the tool subjects 
is complete mastery of something not to be questioned; 
for example, the multiplication table, spelling, and punc¬ 
tuation. 

It is when we place in children’s hands a textbook or¬ 
ganized according to the author’s point of view, colored 
by the author’s opinion, that we need to train them in the 
elements of study as listed above. 

Literature when instructive falls under the head of con¬ 
tent material. In its aesthetic aspects, a thing to be enjoyed 
and appreciated, it is not studied in quite the sense in which 
the word is employed here. 

On the other hand, creative English is given a section to 
itself, in which it is shown how, in contrast to organizing 
and balancing the thoughts of an author, children are 
taught to organize and balance their own ideas in their 
effort to express them for the instruction or delight of their 
readers. 

The first factor to be considered is the cooperation of 
the child. We may be amused at Irving’s inimitable de¬ 
scription of Ichabod Crane as with the birch he “ urged 
some tardy loiterer along the flowery paths of knowledge,” 
but if we really wish our pupils to become citizens who will 
function helpfully as men and women (and why else teach 
at all?), we do not follow his method either actually or in 
spirit. Not the rod, but the will to learn, is the first requisite 
for success in learning how to study. We may force the 
uninterested pupil to follow certain steps, but there will 
be little chance of his following them voluntarily, once 
the pressure is removed. 

We do not intend to convey the impression that it is 
necessary or possible to secure the interest of every pupil 


PREFACE 


vii 

all the time. But in the atmosphere of the classroom there 
must be an enthusiasm that will sustain most of the pupils 
during periods of necessary drudgery. 

How then are we to maintain this enthusiasm? There 
are those who say it can be done only by allowing the 
child to choose what he will study and how he will go about 
it. Undoubtedly in the past the child has had far too 
little to say about his own education, and the makers of 
curricula today, for the most part, utterly disregard in¬ 
dividual differences in children. Having planned a course 
of study, they consider it suitable for all normal children. 
Children of a wide range of mentality, some with very 
special talents, some with special inaptitudes, all must 
cover the same ground, unless adjudged subnormal. This 
is irrational, and in revolt against this senseless uniformity 
the pendulum has started on a long swing in the other di¬ 
rection. Is it fair to the child to expect him to be able to 
choose paths when he cannot know where they lead? 
Talents and deficiencies should surely be taken into con¬ 
sideration in planning a child’s education^ but the child 
himself (below the high school certainly), seldom if ever 
knows what subjects will best develop his possibilities. 
He may choose a subject because an older brother has 
been interested in it, or because he has seen one book that 
interested him, and later may regret his choice. 

Moreover, with the best will in the world, the teacher 
can scarcely help influencing the choice by some uncon¬ 
scious look or inflection. Some teachers, feeling that cer¬ 
tain subjects are best for the children, and on the other 
hand that children should exercise choice, try to secure 
both results by deliberately “ setting the stage so that the 
children will be sure to choose the right thing.” This is 
a species of “ hocus-pocus ” belittling to teacher and pupils. 


PREFACE 


viii 

Not thus can we discover each child’s bent and develop in¬ 
dividuality sufficiently to secure from each his best con¬ 
tribution. 

There should be opportunities for initiative and selection, 
many of them. Individuality cannot be developed unless 
the child is frequently encouraged to exercise individuality. 
But interest can be aroused and sustained in required sub¬ 
jects if they are suited to the child’s mental capacity. Of 
that suitability he is frequently a poor judge through com¬ 
plete ignorance of what the name of a topic connotes. Yet 
he cannot be fitted to make his best contribution now, or 
hereafter except by being introduced to all the fundamental 
aspects of human knowledge and endeavor. The choice 
of socially worth-while problems and their arrangement 
in some kind of reasonable sequence cannot fairly be left 
entirely to the pupil with his narrow horizon and immature 
judgment. In his address, delivered at the Eighth Annual 
Conference of the Progressive Education Association, March, 
1928, Dr. Dewey left no doubt of his position: 

. . . “the teacher, as the member of the group having the riper 
and fuller experience and the greater insight into the possibilities 
of continuous development found in any suggested project, has not 
only the right but the duty to suggest lines of activity, . . . there 
need not be any fear of adult imposition provided the teacher knows 
children as well as subjects .... progressive schools by virtue of 
being progressive, and not in spite of that fact, are under the necessity 
of finding projects which involve an orderly development and inter¬ 
connection of subject-matter, since otherwise there can be no suffi¬ 
ciently complex and long-span undertaking.” 

If then it is not necessary to allow the child always to 
lead, how shall we be guided in securing the child’s in¬ 
terest? By calling into play the child’s natural impulses, 
the impulse to investigate, the impulse to communicate, 
the constructive impulse, etc. Give him a question to 


PREFACE 


IX 


answer, a problem to solve; give him a chance to pass on 
the information he has acquired or to construct something 
which will illustrate the matter in hand. Once thoroughly 
interested, children are usually glad of suggestions as to 
ways and means of achieving the desired result, and study 
periods are frequently times when the teacher is very ac¬ 
tively engaged in unfolding to the children methods which 
later they will be expected to follow independently. 

Methods of study differ with the subjects under consid¬ 
eration; for example, observation of natural phenomena as 
in nature study, experimentation and manipulation of 
materials as in industrial art, or interpretation of thoughts 
and feelings as reflected in actions, as in history and litera¬ 
ture. Sometimes the teacher gives direct instruction in 
some new study procedure. Frequently it is desirable for 
her to analyze a problem with a class, helping them to 
select the particular method best adapted to its solution. 
As various modes of attack are mastered there should be 
many times when the pupils are left to select for themselves, 
given the chance to make mistakes and grow towards 
student independence. 

Always in the teacher’s mind there should be conscious¬ 
ness of the underlying principles which must influence 
procedure in any given instance. She must bear in mind 
that the child needs to be taught to study always with a 
specific purpose; that he must be instructed in effective 
methods of collecting and organizing data, and in the ap¬ 
plication of these data to new situations; that he needs 
direct teaching in the most scientific methods of memoriz¬ 
ing and careful guidance in order that he may attain free 
and forceful self-expression. Furthermore, the teacher 
must maintain about immature children, and encourage 
them more and more to maintain about themselves, an 


X 


PREFACE 


atmosphere congenial to the attitudes which are essential 
for the student, curiosity, initiative, perseverance, sus¬ 
pended judgment, repeated self-testing of knowledge gained 
and, permeating all, the sense of social responsibility. 

There has been in the preparation of this book no at¬ 
tempt at an exhaustive treatment of the subject, and there 
is no claim to originality in any principle expounded. If 
the book deserves a place among the multiplicity of treatises 
on kindred lines it is that it walks modestly but firmly 
upon the solid ground of attainment in elementary class¬ 
rooms rather than soaring on the wings of theory and specu¬ 
lation from college lecture halls. It shows what has ac¬ 
tually been done by a group of teachers. Illustrations of 
their obvious failures and apparent successes are given in 
examples of children’s work as they slowly acquire methods 
of study. 

I desire to express my indebtedness to my colleagues. 
Without their helpful cooperation the book could never 
have been written. They have furnished without stint 
records of lessons and specimens of children’s work, have 
read manuscript, and made many helpful suggestions. 
Thanks are due to Miss Helga R. Mortenson and Miss 
Elizabeth L. Gillingham for the material in sections dealing 
with English composition and geography, respectively. 
Mrs. Florence D. Brown and Miss Anna Gillingham have 
furnished data for the passages devoted to mathematics; 
and Miss Bertha Klaer for those devoted to science. Mrs. 
Marie B. Moore has given many practical suggestions for 
working out study methods in the classrooms. 

I am especially indebted to the Principal of the Open Air 
Department, Miss Anna Gillingham, not only for help given 
in innumerable ways in connection with the actual writing 
of the manuscript, but for inspiration and unfailing en- 


PREFACE 


xi 


couragement throughout the years of experimentation dur¬ 
ing which the methods herein described have been tried out. 

Very valuable suggestions have been made by Drs. Henry 
H. Goddard, Vivian T. Thayer, and Boyd H. Bode of Ohio 
State University, all of whom have read the manuscript. 
Their advice and encouragement are deeply appreciated. 

I am most grateful to Mrs. R. G. Stone for the many 
hours she has devoted to the tedious task of proof reading. 

To Dr. Frank M. McMurry I would express thanks not 
only for reading and criticizing the manuscript, but for 
the inspiration furnished by his book How to Study and 
Teaching How to Study. In common with a host of other 
teachers I have been guided by it in much of my classroom 
procedure. Many of the “practical suggestions” are based 
on the theories expounded in that book. 

Bessie W. Stillman. 

New York City, 

June 4, 1928. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface.v 

Introduction.xv 

CHAPTER 

INTRODUCTORY: THE PLACE OF THINKING IN ED¬ 
UCATION. Boyd H. Bode. 1 

I. STIMULATING THE QUESTIONING ATTITUDE OF 

MIND.12 

II. HELPING THE CHILD TO GET FOOD FOR THOUGHT 31 

III. HELPING THE CHILD TO ORGANIZE HIS FACTS . 58 

IV. HELPING THE CHILD TO ORGANIZE HIS FACTS (Con¬ 

tinued) .86 

V. TEACHING THE CHILD HOW TO MAKE THE }JoST 

ECONOMICAL USE OF HIS MEMORY . . .105 

VI. MAKING IDEAS FUNCTION.127 

VII. SELF-EXPRESSION THROUGH ENGLISH COMPOSI¬ 
TION .153 

VIII. SELF-EXPRESSION THROUGH ENGLISH COMPOSI¬ 
TION (Continued).182 

IX. MASTERY OF CERTAIN COMMON TOOLS . . .211 

X. EDUCATION: A PROCESS FOR THE CULTIVATION OF 

ATTITUDES.230 

Index.243 


xiii 































INTRODUCTION 


There has not always been a close relation between study¬ 
ing and thinking. In fact a generation ago when studying 
meant simply the acquiring of facts, there was scarcely 
any relation between the two. To be sure teachers now 
and then were heard to demand that the children “ think 
and think hard ”; but it was a very thoughtless requirement, 
for few teachers in such cases could have shown the chil¬ 
dren how to meet the demand. Probably even now it is 
exceptional for studying to be anything more than the 
memorization of facts. Only three years ago one of our 
leading University presidents took the position in a maga¬ 
zine article that thinking should be the goal of college in¬ 
struction, and he maintained that view as though it was 
something new. 

In theory now very many teachers want studying to be 
real thinking, and some of those identified with the primary 
school believe that even the quality of instruction in the 
tool subjects should be determined by the extent to which 
the elements of good thinking are provided for. The reason 
for this general view is that right method of thinking is 
seen to have a far wider use in life than the facts acquired 
through instruction. The right way of thinking is in de¬ 
mand all the time, while there is so little need for most 
of the facts of subject matter that they are soon forgotten. 
We have not reached the point where examination on 
method of study is advocated as the main test of the 
learner’s progress; but that time is certainly coming. How 


XV 


XVI 


INTRODUCTION 


much do we now know about the thinking process? A good 
deal. We know that thinking takes place in units of effort 
in which the motive power and the basis for the selection 
and organization of ideas are found in a difficulty of some 
sort that we desire to solve, and in which other large ele¬ 
ments are planning, executing, and testing out. Persons 
who have read understanding^ only the first few chapters 
of Dewey’s How to Think have a pretty clear conception 
of the outline of the thinking process. 

What remains to be done, then, more than to apply this 
conception in each of our many branches of study? Noth¬ 
ing at all. But there lies the rub; for there is a host of 
difficulties in the way of making this application. 

The first difficulty is the fact that the ordinary curricu¬ 
lum is unfavorable to study; it scarcely allows it. For 
example, New York City used to have as its required work 
for one-half year in geography for the fourth grade the 
study of seventeen of our states, the most important seven¬ 
teen, among which were New York and California. Facts 
covering the boundary, capital, main cities, and products 
for each state had to be learned. Under such conditions 
good thinking was scarcely possible; the only thing to do 
was to memorize the thousand facts wanted. The slow 
progress we are making in the attempt to functionalize 
our subject matter indicates how difficult it is to select 
matter that plainly relates to the learner’s life. Yet the 
feeling of a close relation is the first condition for good 
study by the child. When we recall that most of our 
courses of study have been made out more from the point 
of view of an outline of the subject rather than from that 
of the child, we realize how great this difficulty is. 

If the question is asked, why don’t we get to work and 
quickly produce the right kind of curriculum, the answer 


INTRODUCTION 


XVII 


is again discouraging. One is that we do not yet know 
child nature well enough to determine what it most nat¬ 
urally feeds upon. Child study is a new subject; it has 
not been many years since G. Stanley Hall first attacked 
the problem, and up to the present time there is much 
more enthusiasm about it than definite and usable knowl¬ 
edge. 

Besides this, it must be emphasized that method of 
study is not a fixed procedure that can quickly be adapted 
to each branch of study after its content has been carefully 
selected. It must always be to a considerable extent an 
outgrowth of the particular subject. The method of study¬ 
ing literature is different from that of arithmetic; and the 
method for arithmetic is different from that for geography 
or history. I think that this fact is now pretty well under¬ 
stood. Yet we know very little about how subject matter 
should influence method and not many persons are now 
even vigorously at work on the problem. Indeed, it is 
hardly yet a recognized field of study and experiment. 

There is, however, a still greater difficulty than any of 
these. The moment we give high rank to teaching children 
how to study, we are asking for a radical change in the 
common conception of instruction. The ordinary aim of 
instruction is the acquisition of facts and that is what chil¬ 
dren are examined on, as we have stated. But when 
method of study is raised to prominence it really becomes 
our aim which tends to supersede knowledge. Proper 
study is seen to be one of the very conditions of knowledge. 
It is so vital both in that respect and in others, that study 
habits become the basis for judging teaching, and conse¬ 
quently the main thing on which children should be exam¬ 
ined. The controlling point of view in the classroom is 
then the child’s growth rather than his mastery of subject 


xviii 


INTRODUCTION 


matter; and to attain that end, both the teacher and the 
subject matter must be subordinated to the child. Such 
a double subordination would be a very radical departure 
from prevailing practice. It will be a long time before 
teachers will thus place the center of gravity of the class¬ 
room in the children themselves. 

But suppose that they now saw the need of doing this; 
how should they proceed to bring it about? There is ex¬ 
tremely little literature on the method of studying the dif¬ 
ferent subjects, so that they could not get much help from 
that source. The other main source could be the extensive 
experience each teacher has had on her own method of 
study. Everyone has a method of some sort; and an analy¬ 
sis of it could not help but throw much light upon chil¬ 
dren’s methods. But, again, the difficulty is that teachers 
are so close to their own method that they cannot see it; 
they are unconscious of it. It is a big struggle to bring it 
into consciousness so as to observe it closely and improve it. 

Considering all these difficulties how shall progress be 
undertaken? The main help must come by experimenting 
with children on their method of getting their lessons. The 
teacher can observe their present procedure closely, and, 
if she keeps in mind the outline of good thinking, she can 
suggest little ways in which these procedures can be im¬ 
proved. As time passes and better subject matter is put 
into the curriculum, larger improvements can be effected. 
I see no better plan than this at the present time. 

This is the point at which the great value of this book 
becomes evident. There are many broad questions to be 
faced in teaching children to study: for example, the assign¬ 
ment of the lesson so that the child’s initiative is exercised 
rather than stifled; the proper taking of notes; the use of 
verbal expression in the clarification of ideas; the sensing 


INTRODUCTION 


xix 


of value to the self of what one is hearing or reading, etc., 
etc. This book is a presentation of attempts at a solution 
of such problems. For some years the author and her col¬ 
leagues have conducted their classes with constant atten¬ 
tion to the children’s proper method of work; and the re¬ 
sults are here faithfully recorded. In the course of this 
long experiment they have covered the main elements in 
proper study as these found expression in several studies, 
so that the experiment includes a wide range. To see 
teachers at work on this problem in the classroom from 
day to day would certainly be a great aid to anyone in¬ 
terested in method of study; and this book gives its readers 
that opportunity. Even though one finds the conclusions 
not directly applicable in one’s own teaching, the method 
of procedure and results must prove highly suggestive for 
method of study in other subjects and under other con¬ 
ditions. 

Frank M. McMurry. 

Yonkers, New York, 

March 1, 1928. 


INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 


By Boyd H. Bode 

THE PLACE OF THINKING IN EDUCATION 

Perhaps the most significant sign of the times is the fact 
that there is everywhere a growing belief in the need and 
value of education. Illiteracy is becoming more and more 
uncommon, the period of school attendance is lengthening, 
and the standards of teacher training are constantly going 
up. There is more discussion of education and more ex¬ 
perimentation in this field than at any previous time. 

In one sense the belief in education is not a new thing, 
but as old as humanity itself. Every community, however v 
primitive, has a certain stock of racial experience which it 
desires to transmit to its children. How to secure food and 
shelter, how to avoid danger, how to distinguish between 
what is desirable and what is undesirable in conduct, or 
between what is noble and what is ignoble—on matters of 
this sort every form of community or group life has a cer¬ 
tain body of experience and tradition which constitutes a 
legacy for every new member that is born into its circle. 
But this legacy is not passed on automatically, like the 
shape of the nose or the color of the skin; it can be ac¬ 
quired only by a process of education. 

A great deal of this education is very simple and direct. 
Children learn to dress themselves, to behave properly at 
table, to avoid tracking dirt into the house, to wash behind 
the ears, and other things of social value, by methods known 
1 


2 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

to every mother of a family. This form of education is 
continued and extended on the street, in the workshop, in 
the market place, and wherever associated living is going 
on. Children are subjected from the start to social pressure 
in all sorts of ways, and by this pressure their habits and 
standards are molded. They thus acquire a certain body 
of knowledge regarding their material and social environ¬ 
ment and they also acquire ideals of conduct. Some things 
are admired by the group, while others are condemned; and 
these approvals and disapprovals become, by a sort of 
contagion, the source of the ideals and the inspirations of 
the younger generation. Listening to camp-fire stories of 
prowess and endurance, the Indian boy became fired with 
the ambition to grow into a great warrior, possessed of 
many scalps as trophies, and feared by his enemies for deeds 
of torture and slaughter; just as in earlier times Greek lads 
learned from the Homeric bards the meaning of piety, 
magnanimity, and nobility of character. All this is educa¬ 
tion, although it may have nothing to do with schools. 

In modern society such out-of-school education is no 
longer sufficient for the conservation of racial experience. 
A little reflection will show why this is the case. Many of 
the activities carried on at the present time require special 
preparation; they cannot be learned through direct partici¬ 
pation. A boy may learn the arts of hunting, fishing, war¬ 
fare, or the raising of crops, by sharing in these occupations, 
without any school training. But he cannot hope by any 
such process of sharing to become a physician or a lawyer or 
an engineer. He is excluded from the start; and this applies 
also to the thousand and one everyday activities and in¬ 
terests which require a knowledge of the three R’s. The 
child does not absorb such knowledge from mere associa¬ 
tion, any more than a janitor in a college building is likely 


THE PLACE OF THINKING IN EDUCATION 3 


to acquire, by virtue of association, a liberal education. 
Schools become indispensable, if the experience of the past 
is to be conserved. That is to say, certain subject matter 
must be specially selected and graded so that pupils will 
finally reach a point where direct sharing is possible. Thus 
reading is taught, not by using current newspapers and 
magazines, but by beginning on the level of the primer and 
proceeding to more difficult material in accordance with the 
pupil’s rate of learning. Much the same thing might be 
said regarding the other subjects commonly taught in the 
schools. In other words, the school constitutes a special 
environment to facilitate the business of learning. 

The school, therefore, is an institution by means of 
which society provides for its own perpetuation. It is the 
only alternative to a relapse into barbarism. But this new 
institution has created a new problem. The problem is to 
keep the school from becoming a little world all by itself, 
apart from the larger life by which it was created and which 
it is supposed to serve. Learning outside of school is for 
the purpose of interpreting our material and social environ¬ 
ment; learning in school easily becomes an end itself, with¬ 
out reference to anything else. When the pupil enters the 
schoolroom, the door seems to close on the outside world. 
He may learn that the £arth is round, that Columbus dis¬ 
covered America in 1492, or that Washington was the first 
President, but this information appears to make no appre¬ 
ciable difference when he goes back home after school has 
been dismissed. The school and the life outside the school 
remain on two different levels; with the result that the work 
of the school tends constantly to become a matter of rote 
learning. The assignments are just so many lessons or 
tasks which, except in the case of the fortunate few, have 
no inherent interest or significance. 


4 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

It is only within comparatively recent times that this 
difficulty has been properly recognized and understood. 
For a long time the failure of the schools to arouse genuine 
interest was attributed to the natural wickedness of chil¬ 
dren, who must be perpetually flogged for the good of their 
souls. Now we are coming to realize that the trouble is not 
so much with the wickedness of children as with the stupid¬ 
ity of educators. The school became dissociated from the 
normal affairs and interests of everyday life because teachers 
failed to understand that the purpose of education is, 
first of all, to initiate the pupil into the society of which he is 
a part; and that schools are maintained because, to some 
extent or in some respects, they can conduct this initiation 
more effectively than can be done outside. The teachers 
as a class tended to misconceive the purpose of the schools 
and so the results which were achieved were naturally un¬ 
satisfactory. 

From our present standpoint the school is properly a sub¬ 
stitute for the natural social environment. The actual 
environment has grown so complex that the average person 
can go but a little way in understanding it, unless he has 
special assistance. A person who does not learn to read 
in school stands little chance of learning to read at all, in 
spite of the fact that he is surrounded by newspapers, 
magazines, and books. Similarly his everyday life, although 
it brings him into frequent contact with the world of busi¬ 
ness, government, and applied science, gives him no signifi¬ 
cant comprehension of these matters. Such an individual 
is only a few removes from the level of his dog, which 
likewise spends its life among these achievements of 
civilization but which is interested in the things of its en¬ 
vironment chiefly as things to be smelled and things to be 
barked at. But unfortunately the school environment 


THE PLACE OF THINKING IN EDUCATION 5 


which we substitute for the natural environment easily be¬ 
comes an artificial thing, in the sense that the learning 
which goes on in the schools tends to become an essentially 
different kind of thing from the learning outside of the 
schools. This difference is the source of all kinds of prob¬ 
lems and difficulties. The outstanding educational prob¬ 
lem, therefore, is to make the schools more nearly contin¬ 
uous with life so as to enable the pupil to participate in 
adult activities and to contribute to their improvement. 
If we adopt this point of view, it follows that educational 
reform must take its cue from an analysis of the learning 
process, in order to determine ideals for schoolroom pro¬ 
cedure. 

It has been customary for a long time to think of learn¬ 
ing as a process of adding new items of information to the 
stock of knowledge which we already possess, in much the 
same way that a moving picture camera keeps adding new 
impressions to those which have already been recorded. 
There is much reason, however, to think that such a view 
is far too simple. The learning process—if an analogy is 
appropriate—is more like a chemical change, in which 
every addition of a new substance involves a transforma¬ 
tion of the whole mass. Thus if hydrogen and oxygen are 
brought together under certain conditions, the different 
elements are not simply placed side by side, like marbles 
in a bag, but the hydrogen and oxygen disappear com¬ 
pletely and are replaced by a different substance, which we 
call water. In somewhat the same way the original “ bloom¬ 
ing, buzzing confusion” which, according to William James, 
constitutes the experience of the infant, is progressively re¬ 
placed by an orderly arrangement of things, which are 
spread out in space and time and which compose what we 
call our environment. From an educational standpoint 


6 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

the important thing in learning is not the sheer adding of 
new information, but the reconstruction or making over 
of what we knew before. 

This process of reconstruction is especially marked when 
we consider the procedure of intelligence in the overcoming 
of practical difficulties. A man is injured and there is no 
ambulance or stretcher available. A door taken from its 
hinges will serve as a stretcher! Here an old and familiar 
object, a door, is suddenly seen in a new context or setting; 
it is endowed with a new meaning. The surface of the door 
will support the body of the man; the four corners of the 
door will serve for purposes of lifting and carrying; the 
wood of which the door is made is light enough to make the 
lifting and carrying possible. Perhaps further considera¬ 
tions present themselves—the owner of the door is kind- 
hearted and will approve the utilization of the door for this 
purpose; the case is urgent, so that the taking of the door 
without the owner’s consent is morally and legally justifi¬ 
able, etc. It is evident that the door thus becomes the cen¬ 
ter of a new set of relations; psychologically or subjectively 
the door becomes a very different kind of object from any 
that has been experienced before. A new fact has been dis¬ 
covered, viz., that a door can be used as a substitute for a 
stretcher, but this discovery involves the reorganization of 
a considerable body of previous experience. It is necessary 
to bring to bear our previous knowledge of wood, of lifting 
and carrying, and the like, before we can effectively visual¬ 
ize the door as a substitute for a stretcher. 

In this illustration the interaction between new and old 
facts is especially worthy of attention. It is evident, in the 
first place, that previous experience functions so as to give 
character or meaning to the new. When Columbus reached 
the shores of America, the Indians, never having seen sailing 


THE PLACE OF THINKING IN EDUCATION 7 


vessels before, called them birds. This modification or 
interpretation of the new by the old is what Herbart called 
apperception . But, secondly, the effect of the new fact upon 
previous experience is also quite direct and unmistakable. 
If we classify a sailing vessel as a bird, it becomes necessary 
to revise our notion of “bird” very considerably. Or to 
change the illustration, when we learn, for example, that 
the earth moves around the sun, it is necessary to revise the 
background of our previous experience very extensively 
in order to make room for this new fact. We get a different 
notion of north and south, of up and down, of weight, and 
of the whole material universe as a system dominated by 
the law of gravitation. 

It is by this process of interaction that experience grows, 
both in extent and in depth. In the case of superficial or 
perfunctory learning the interrelation between the new 
fact and the experiential background is at a minimum. 
Such learning is exemplified by the case of the child in an 
Illinois school who, as Dewey relates, was able to recite 
what was said in the textbook regarding the Mississippi 
river but who did not know that this was the river that 
flowed past her home town. Such learning is ordinarily 
lacking in interest and in utility. It is the kind of learning 
that is sometimes designated by such derogatory expressions 
as “book learning ” or “verbal knowledge.” 

The evil of such learning is commonly recognized in our 
schools. One reason probably why it is not remedied more 
successfully is that there is no adequate understanding of 
the nature of the learning process, and consequently no 
sufficient appreciation of the resources which may be em¬ 
ployed by the teacher to insure more effective learning. It 
is necessary for the teacher to have, first of all, a conception 
of sound learning that is sufficiently definite for practical 


8 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

purposes. A pupil may rehearse glibly certain facts in a 
class in history or geography and yet leave a disagreeable 
suspicion that his ability to recite is not accompanied by 
insight or comprehension. What is to be done about it? 

Let us consider once more the nature of the difficulty. 
What, for example, is the difference between a schoolboy’s 
knowledge of history and the knowledge that is possessed 
by a trained historian? When we proceed to investigate, 
we find that the schoolboy’s knowledge consists, relatively 
speaking, of a jumble of unrelated facts. The particular 
items of information, it appears, arc not interwoven with 
one another, they are not connected with an extensive back¬ 
ground of further knowledge, but each stands by itself. 
Ask him, for example, to name the date of the Armistice 
which terminated the World War. Perhaps he can give the 
correct answer. But it may be that he can give no support¬ 
ing testimony; he remembers the date, but he has nothing 
on which to base his belief in the correctness of his knowl¬ 
edge except the immediate deliverance of his memory. 

Not so with the historian. The characteristic trait of 
the historian is that he is able to interrelate the date of the 
Armistice with all sorts of other facts. There is, for ex¬ 
ample, the further fact that the war occurred during Wil¬ 
son’s administration, which lasted from 1913 to 1921. The 
slogan for Wilson’s second presidential campaign was “He 
kept us out of war consequently the Armistice must have 
come at a later time and must fall somewhere between 1917 
and 1921. The United States became involved in the war 
shortly after Wilson’s second inauguration, and the period 
of our participation lasted for about a year and a half. 
Moreover, the entire war was extended over a period of four 
years and began in 1914. In short, all these facts converge 
on the conclusion that the Armistice occurred in the autumn 


THE PLACE OF THINKING IN EDUCATION 9 


of 1918. This bit of information does not stand by itself, 
but is knit together with other facts into a body of organ¬ 
ized knowledge. This interrelation of facts explains why it 
is that a historian, even though he be endowed with a very 
ordinary power of memory, can nevertheless remember so 
many facts. They interlock, like the links in a chain. 
Moreover, while these facts may have been gleaned from 
books, yet the type of knowledge which is thus built up from 
them is as different as possible from what we call “book 
learning.” 

The conclusion to which we seem to be led by the fore¬ 
going considerations is that effective learning is a process of 
building up a certain kind of system or organization of fact. 
As was said a few moments ago, learning is more than the 
mechanical accumulation of new information. The new 
information that is to be acquired is to be regarded as a 
candidate for admission to the inner circle of experience. 
Before the candidate is accepted it must be determined how 
he will fit into the organization that is already in exist¬ 
ence. Thus the suggestion that a door may be used as a 
stretcher cannot be accepted until it is determined that 
such a stretcher can be carried, that it will support a person, 
and so on; and before we can accept the proposition that the 
earth moves about the sun we must have some idea of how 
this proposition bears on our previous beliefs regarding the 
nature of weight, of up and down, and the like. Frequently 
it is necessary to gather further information, in the form of 
observations or experiments, before we can be sure. Many 
plausible suggestions have to be rejected because they can¬ 
not be made to fit in with other facts that are already known 
or that are collected for the purpose of testing the sugges¬ 
tion. The story of Santa Claus is a case in point, likewise 
the belief in witches, and the explanations of natural phe- 


10 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


nomena that are furnished in mythologies. Scientific in¬ 
vestigators usually make numerous wrong guesses before 
they hit upon the right one. The infant mortality in the 
domain of theory is very high. 

Unless the pupils in our schools are trained in the habit 
of building up organizations of knowledge in the manner 
indicated, our educational system is nothing more than a 
device for securing parrot-like responses. On the other 
hand, in so far as we develop this power of organizing knowl¬ 
edge we are developing the power to think. Thinking is 
simply the capacity or ability, first, to get hold of a sugges¬ 
tion, idea, or meaning, and then to examine whether it 
should be accepted. More briefly, thinking consists in 
finding and testing meanings. To think is to reorganize, 
to reinterpret, or reconstruct. Since this is the essential 
feature of learning, it follows that the cultivation of think¬ 
ing is the core of the educative process. New facts are 
learned more readily and more effectively if they are needed 
to build up these intellectual constructs, and these con¬ 
structs become a source of new appreciations; and, finally, 
the power to think which is thus acquired is the best 
guarantee that what is learned in the schoolroom will be 
of service in later life. 

The teacher who really succeeds in stimulating pupils 
to think can afford to be at peace with the world; other 
things will be added unto him. But to secure this result 
he must be resourceful; there is no possibility of reducing 
the art of teaching, when thus conceived, to a fixed pro¬ 
cedure, like a manual of arms. To promote thinking is a 
difficult matter in the best of circumstances, and it has 
certain added difficulties in the case of children. It is 
necessary to have a realizing sense of the fact that children 
are not little men and little women, but just children, in 


THE PLACE OF THINKING IN EDUCATION 11 


the sense that they have neither the abilities nor the dis¬ 
abilities which spring from established habits. The lack 
of such habits does indeed give children a greater capacity 
for interests, and a greater flexibility of mind, than is 
possessed by adults, who have settled more or less into 
certain grooves. Children are more free from bias and prej¬ 
udice, and they have a singular capacity for spontaneous 
sympathy. But on the other hand, the lack of habits 
makes them more helpless than adults. Comparatively 
speaking, the child does not know how to approach a new 
assignment; he cannot pick out the central idea, he cannot 
distinguish between what is of major importance and what 
is of minor importance and what is irrelevant to a given 
purpose, he does not know how to gather material, nor 
does he know how to organize material or how to formulate 
it in verbal or written language. In short, he does not know 
how to think. 

In order to teach pupils how to think it is necessary for 
the teacher to provide them with the tools for thinking, in 
the form of habits, with respect to such matters as have 
just been mentioned. The succeeding chapters in this book 
offer a variety of suggestions with reference to this end. 
They are offered in the conviction that the problem of 
thinking lies somewhere near the heart of the educative 
process. In the end our judgments of progress in education 
will have to be based on the degree of success, which we are 
able to secure in the promotion of thinking, since the 
supreme test of education lies in the capacity for creative 
achievement. 


CHAPTER I 


STIMULATING THE QUESTIONING ATTITUDE 
OF MIND 

“Well begun is half done ” is as applicable to study as to 
any other project, and to begin a task well—vigorously, 
happily—one must understand why the task is to be under¬ 
taken. 

Hosts of children have crammed facts from books simply 
to avoid the unpleasant consequences which would follow 
the failure to satisfy “the powers that be.” Some have 
striven simply to outshine their fellows. Many have 
worked for the higher aim of pleasing those dear to them. 
Still others have been anxious to “prepare for life ” and 
have plodded faithfully, seeing little rhyme or reason in 
most of the things demanded of them as they went along, 
but having faith that somehow what they learned would be 
useful when they should be “grown up.” A favored few 
have worked understandingly, with a definite purpose illu¬ 
minating the way step by step. 

In his epoch-making book, How to Study and Teaching 
How to Study , Dr. McMurry tells us that the demand for 
study arises in specific needs—“a lively consciousness of the 
unsatisfactoriness of a situation is the necessary prerequi¬ 
site to its investigation, it furnishes the motive for it.” 1 

When children can see that the knowledge acquired will 
further projects of keen interest to them, they are willing 

1 McMurry, Frank M., How to Study and Teaching How to Study , p. 13. 
Houghton Mifflin Co., 1909. 


12 


STIMULATING THE QUESTIONING ATTITUDE 13 

to undergo uncomplainingly a large amount of drudgery. 
Consider a group of children constructing an object to 
illustrate some phase of their history, something which 
they can use as a plaything, the model of a medieval castle, 
for instance. They will willingly tear newspaper into bits 
to be made into pulp, tear and tear and tear, long after 
they would have tired of aimless tearing. They search 
through many books for illustrations. These they exam¬ 
ine with great care that the details of construction may 
be accurate. They build, tear down, and rebuild when 
they are not satisfied with the effect. They ask advice 
as to methods. And when it is done, how they love it! 

Then they will set to work to write a play to be acted by 
puppets in and about the castle. They read many pages 
concerning the lives of castle-dwellers in order that their 
play may seem real. They write and rewrite. They will¬ 
ingly submit to criticism, but do not easily go down under 
it, as they have had real ideas to express. They are willing 
to substitute one phrase for another, but the teacher must 
produce evidence if she attempts to interfere with the idea 
which the children were endeavoring to make clear. Such 
a project provides the proper incentive for prolonged study. 
All the “ steps ” are taken voluntarily. 

One can see the same eagerness and thoroughness, the 
same search for data, the willingness to suspend judgment 
until other sources of information have been consulted, the 
same weighing of relative values among a group of children 
at the sand table constructing a canal lock for the benefit 
of the whole class. They are eager to see it “work” and to 
be able to show others. 

Unquestionably the most vital, thorough studying done 
by children is that which is necessary to solve problems 
which have arisen in their own minds, or which connect 


14 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


with their daily lives, but they must be made acquainted 
with large bodies of knowledge which do not function 
immediately in their lives. Frequently it is necessary for 
them to be satisfied to understand the aim in the mind of 
the author when he wrote a certain passage and to follow 
his thought step by step. 

Unfortunately, however, not all authors of textbooks are 
skillful in framing introductory statements which serve to 
make clear the aim of each chapter. 2 If obliged to use a 
book defective in this respect, the teacher should be es¬ 
pecially on the alert to furnish suitable introductions. But 
when a child is studying alone from such a book, the recog¬ 
nition of the purpose of a particular selection may come 
only after he is well into the subject, or even after the 
whole has been completed. Then he may discover for 
himself, or if he does not, the teacher should make a special 
point of showing him, that the knowledge he has acquired 
will be of use in solving some other problem. Even this 


2 Examples of texts satisfactory in this respect are: 

1. The History of the American People , by Charles A. Beard and William 
C. Bagley. The Macmillan Co. The purpose of each chapter is made clear 
by well-chosen chapter-headings, and by introductory paragraphs, which 
serve as connecting links between what has gone before and what is to 
follow. 

2. Elementary American History & Government , by James A. Woodburn 
and Thomas F. Moran. Longmans, Green and Co. The introductory 
paragraphs are very satisfactory. 

3. The Nation's History , by Arthur R. Leonard and Bertha E. Jacobs. 
Henry Holt and Co. Each chapter is preceded by a topical outline of the 
subject considered, by thought-provoking questions, and stimulating sug¬ 
gestions for special investigations. 

4. A Brief Topical Survey of United States History , by Oliver P. Corman 
and Oscar Gerson. D. C. Heath and Co. In this book, also, topical outlines 
introduce the chapters. 

5. Early Settlements in America, by John A. Long. Row, Peterson and 
Co. The “Questions for Discussion before Reading This Story” serve to 
focus thought on the especial topic to be considered, and the introductory 
paragraphs are very skillful prefaces. 


STIMULATING THE QUESTIONING ATTITUDE 15 

tardy recognition of a purpose strengthens his faith in the 
general reasonableness of the demands made upon him. It 
will help him to establish the habit of being on the lookout 
for uses for ideas gained when such uses are not apparent at 
the start. 

The point to be kept in mind is that as rapidly as possible 
children should be habituated to purposeful investigation 
rather than to aimless amassing of facts. 

The teacher’s method in development lessons has much 
to do with establishing the right attitude in children when 
they study alone. 

The assignment of the matter for study is of far greater 
importance than common practice would indicate. The 
teacher is apt to leave too little time for this part of the 
work, and so to announce hurriedly a certain number of 
pages to be studied or problems to be worked. 

The importance of formulating the aim of the lesson can 
scarcely be overestimated. The following is quoted from the 
geography teacher, “In whatever thing we do in teaching 
how to study, the definite objective in the child’s mind is the 
largest factor in success. This may come from the child’s 
own purpose, or from the teacher’s assignment.” 

It may well happen that a whole lesson period may be 
spent in preparing the children for a period of independent 
study. 

One of the history teachers makes the following statement 
in regard to specific aim, “Often, before beginning an assign¬ 
ment, we discuss what we already know about the subject 
and what we should like to find out. I add questions also 
and we make a list of definite facts which we must know in 
order to arrive at some conclusion or judgment.” In other 
words, she strives to arouse the children’s curiosity about 
the matter in hand. 


16 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Ways in which subjects can be presented so as to start the 
children to studying with a question or questions in mind 
are suggested by the following accounts of geography lessons: 

The Sixth Grade did some arithmetic with state pop¬ 
ulations and discovered that the eight Plateau States con¬ 
tain less than one-third as many people as their own state, 
New York. Then they compared the area of New York 
with that of the smallest Plateau State, Utah, and found 
that New York was little more than half as large. These 
figures are thought-provoking. Naturally the question 
arose, “Why are there so few people there?” With this 
question in mind, they began the study of the Plateau 
States, considering the influence of their physical charac¬ 
teristics on the lives of their inhabitants. 

In a Seventh Grade a temperature chart of North 
America was hung on the wall. The pupils were told to 
study it silently. Then they were asked to state any facts 
they had discovered, and any questions which they would 
like answered. Enough questions were propounded to fur¬ 
nish incentive for several periods of intensive study. 

Surely such study is undertaken with more zest than is 
that which is directed entirely by the teacher. Indeed, 
by the time the children reach the Seventh Grade they 
should become conscious of the need of studying with 
questions in mind. The third geography lesson illustrates 
how the matter was presented to one class. 

Methods of study were discussed in a Seventh Grade 
geography class, and a comparison made between merely 
reading pages of assignment and studying to find answers 
to questions. The class said that the latter method was 
more interesting. The teacher explained that it was more 
interesting because they had a purpose in reading: 


STIMULATING THE QUESTIONING ATTITUDE 17 

“Up to this time, your questions have arisen in class discussion 
or I have given them to you. Now you may try to think out good 
questions for yourselves. We are about to begin the study of Mexico. 
Are there any questions about Mexico which you want answered?” 

“Suppose you know so much about Mexico that you have no 
questions to ask?” 

“Those who know the most about a country find most problems 
to consider. It was only because there has been so much in the 
papers about Mexico of late that I thought you might know enough 
to ask questions.” 

The children were given an opportunity to write their 
questions. Some showed that they were really interested 
in learning more about the country; but some obviously 
were perfunctory, and the teacher told them they sounded 
“like geography books.” 

One boy read his question: 

“Is it a farming or an industrial country?” 

“John, is there anything you really want to know?” 

“Yes, there is one thing, but it is rather foolish. Why do the 
Mexicans have so many revolutions?” 

“That is not foolish. It is Mexico’s biggest problem, one that 
she is trying to solve.” 

It developed that a number of children had wondered 
about revolutions and the study of the country was begun 
with the intent to understand Mexico’s difficulties. 

It is true that curiosity, or the desire to investigate, is 
one of the inborn impulses, and we can rely upon it to stim¬ 
ulate interest in initiating a project , but we cannot be sure 
that the child will remain in a questioning frame of mind as 
the work progresses, even though he may continue to de¬ 
sire an answer to the question. 

Throughout the cunning “toddler-years” the child is a 
questioning animal, a sort of animated interrogation point. 


18 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


At first the adults who constitute his world find this enter¬ 
taining and encourage these lisped inquiries. But a time 
comes when they become tiresome. The novelty has worn 
off for the adult, but not for the child. However, in time he 
learns that questions are frequently inexpedient, calling 
forth weary or sharp replies and he asks fewer and fewer 
questions, and in far too many cases by the time he enters 
school questioning is for him a lost art. The tables are 
turned, he is expected to answer questions asked by the 
teacher, many of which have little interest for him. 

If the child is to become a successful student, the habit 
of questioning must be reestablished. He must be made 
curious about the matter under consideration, must make 
his attack upon it with a question in mind to be answered. 
He must be so alert that he will know when he does not 
understand, not slip thoughtlessly over points which he 
could not explain if called upon to do so. Ineffective indeed 
is “he who knows not that he knows not.” 

Various methods are employed to help the children to 
discover the value of questioning themselves while studying. 

They are encouraged to attempt to answer selected 
questions and problems from the author’s list which ap¬ 
pears at the end of each chapter in many textbooks. 3 

3 Good lists of questions and problems are found in: 

Advanced Geography, McMurry and Parkins. The Macmillan Co. 

Essentials of Geography, Books I, II, Brigham and McFarlane. American 
Book Co. 

Human Geography, Books I, II, J. Russell Smith. J. C. Winston Co. 

Modern Business Geography, Huntington and Cushing. World Book Co. 

Nations as Neighbors, Packard and Sinnott. The Macmillan Co. 

New Geography, Frye and Atwood. Ginn and Co. 

World Geography, Books I, II, McMurry and Parkins. The Macmillan Co. 

America in the Making, Chadsey, Weinberg & Miller. D. C. Heath & Co. 

School History of the United States, Albert Bushnell Hart. American 
Book Co. 

A History of the United States, Thwaites & Kendall. Houghton Mifflin Co. 


STIMULATING THE QUESTIONING ATTITUDE 19 

Sometimes all the children are asked to hand in ques¬ 
tions which they think will make a good test of some sec¬ 
tion studied by the class. The teacher uses the best of the 
questions in an oral quiz. 

Again, the class is divided into groups, and certain 
children are selected as “ teachers,” to review the groups 
on some topic. The “teachers” prepare their questions 
and submit them to the teacher for criticism before they 
meet their “classes.” 

Children can be helped to develop the technique of 
questioning. At the completion of a unit of study when 
an outline, a summary, or a diagram has been made, the 
teacher naturally asks a few searching questions of the 
“how” and “why” variety to satisfy herself that the class 
really understands the subject. If instead of keeping all 
of this fun to herself, she encourages the pupils to formulate 
questions, there will be more active thinking in that class 
all round. According to the children’s individual ability 
the questions will be penetrating or superficial, but as a 
result the problem or principal under consideration will 
be considered in new relations. Moreover it will become 
a game and the children will beg, “May we ask questions 
next time?” This ability to ask searching questions after 
study is quite different from the inquiring mind turned 
upon a new subject. 

A certain Seventh Grade group had considered a num¬ 
ber of problems in their geography class, some assigned 
by the teacher, some chosen by individuals. One day the 
children and teacher together worked out the following 
general rules to be used in solving geographical prob¬ 
lems: 


20 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


1. When trying to solve a geographical problem discuss it with 

persons who can help you. Plan the conversation by having 
exact questions ready on the points needed. 

2. Reconsider your problem: 

a. Have you solved it? 

b. Was your suggested solution correct? 

c. Was it workable or do you need to reword it, or hunt a 

new problem? 

The history teacher in the Sixth and Seventh Grades 
encourages the children when studying independently to 
make note of words or statements which they cannot under¬ 
stand, and to hand in these notes before the recitation dur¬ 
ing which the assignment is to be discussed. If several 
children ask about the same point, it probably should be 
discussed in class. 

A Seventh Grade study assignment in history included 
“The First Amendments to the Constitution” and “Ham¬ 
ilton’s Plan for Establishing the Credit of the United 
States.” 4 

A number of papers contained questions similar to the 
following: 

“What are sovereign states?” 

“Exactly what is ‘funding’ the debt? I have looked up the word, 
but still I do not understand.” 

“What does this mean: ‘There were no express limitations in favor 
of personal freedom and the rights of states’?” 

“I do not understand what is meant by: ‘The right to assemble 
and petition the government.’” 

The lesson was a very difficult one. The greatest gain 
that the children could get from studying it independently 
was the realization that they did not understand it. The 
whole matter was discussed in class. 

4 Beard and Bagley, History of the American People , pp. 189-195. The 
Macmillan Co., 1925. 


STIMULATING THE QUESTIONING ATTITUDE 21 

Only one child asked the meaning of “Indictment by 
grand jury and trial by jury in all cases of persons charged 
by federal officers with serious crimes.” “Indictment,” 
“jury,” “trial” “federal,” “crimes”—all these words 
sounded familiar and the children did not stop to see 
whether they could explain the idea that they together 
were intended to convey. When the question was put to 
the class, one child after another sat down looking very 
sheepish after having arisen, attempted an explanation, 
and failed. The teacher didn’t need to say anything. A 
child said it for her, “Seems most of us didn’t know we 
didn’t know.” 

Sometimes when a class has grown careless in the matter 
of handing in discriminating questions, the teacher “springs 
on them” an unpleasant surprise. She asks in a test some 
question which she feels sure a considerable number of 
children should have asked her and then gives credit, not 
only to children who can answer it, but to children who, 
recognizing that they did not understand, had made the 
request for an explanation. One illustration will suffice. 

A Seventh Grade had studied the political campaign 
of I860. 5 The next day they were given a written test, 
covering a few points in the lesson. In order to give the 
proper setting to the four questions she intended to ask, 
the teacher reviewed briefly the introductory paragraphs 
of the home assignment as follows: 

The North was stirred by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise 
and by the Dred Scott Decision, but it was by no means sure that 
a majority would vote to abolish slavery in the territories or even to 
disturb slavery at all. So the Republican party needed other planks 
for its platform in the 1860 presidential election. 

6 Ibid., pp. 380-390. 


22 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Then these questions were written on the board: 

1. What were the chief planks finally decided upon? 

2. What is meant by the sentence, following the statement of the 

planks or issues—“All these issues were really dovetailed to¬ 
gether’? 

3. Who held the balance of power in this election? 

4. Which planks or plank secured their vote? 

“Dovetailed together,” those were the words which the 
teacher felt might easily puzzle Seventh Graders. She 
explained that there might be some question about which 
some one of them had failed to inquire when he should 
have done so. In that case he was just to state the fact. 
On the other hand if anyone found a question which he 
could not answer, but about which he had handed in a 
question, he was to note the fact and he would be given 
credit for the question. 

Utter astonishment on the faces of the children— 

“But, Miss-” 

“Oh, it’s perfectly fair. You’ve been told always that it is more 
important to ‘know when you don’t know,’ and to know how to 
find out about things, than it is simply to memorize facts. It will 
be a good thing for you to find out whether or not you have been 
growing careless in this respect.” 

By this time a number of children appreciated that the af¬ 
fair was half a joke, and grins began to take the place of 
puzzlement and disapproval. The children recognized 
that they had been fairly caught, and rather enjoyed the 
play element, but it was evident that some then and there 
resolved not to be caught in such a trap again. 

Now as to the answers to the second question. 

Five showed real comprehension. 

Five showed some glimmering of the meaning. 


STIMULATING THE QUESTIONING ATTITUDE 23 

Five children stated that they had failed to ask: 

“I did not know and forgot to ask you a question about it.” 

“I did not understand and did not ask a question.” 

“I did not notice it.” 

“I do not believe I studied this because I do not remember 
anything about planks or issues.” 

“I do not know, I did not ask a question. I do not believe 
that sentence was in my book.” (!) 

Three children had known that they did not know, and 
had remembered to ask for an explanation. One of the 
three had not only handed in the question, but had dis¬ 
cussed the matter with the teacher before school. This 
child’s answer is counted among the five showing real 
comprehension. It is apparent that all but four children 
needed help, and that only three took steps to get it. 
Slowly, very slowly, do children acquire the habits of 
thoughtful students. 

Of course such lessons should occur very seldom, and the 
children should not feel themselves being penalized. The 
fun must be very near the surface, or “it won’t work.” 
It is doubtful whether a Sixth Grade group could see the 
humor. 

The children were given an opportunity to study this 
lesson again and to hand in questions. In this instance the 
teacher wrote the answers on the children’s question- 
papers, or indicated where the answers were to be found. 
A few specimens are given, the teacher’s comments ap¬ 
pearing in parentheses: 

Children’s Papers with Teacher’s Comments 

First Paper 

I. P. 386, middle of page 

Why should the farmers of the middle west object to a tariff 
reduction? (p. 255.) 


24 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

II. P. 388, middle of page 

Why did the settlers of southern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois op¬ 
pose abolition if they did not like slavery? (Many of those 
settlers were from the S. and did like slavery.) 

HI. P. 390, top of page 

Under what party name did the advocates of John Bell nom¬ 
inate him (Constitutional Union Party. Their platform stated 
that they stood for “The Constitution, the Union and the En¬ 
forcement of the laws.” Horace Greeley said this meant any¬ 
thing and nothing.” Thousands voted with this party simply 
because they could not decide which side they were on. Consult 
Hart and McMaster.) 6 

Second Paper 

1. I never knew that Lincoln was a candidate for Senator of Illinois. 

I thought that the Lincoln-Douglas debates were about slavery 
alone. Why is it that one rarely hears of the debates as senatorial 
debates also? (Lincoln did not become senator, but the debates 
made clear his ideas in regard to slavery. The debates helped to 
secure his election to the presidency. An interesting account of 
these debates is given in A New Nation.) 7 

2. Page 383, bottom of page, “Although Douglas won the election, 
he really lost the debates.” Does this mean that most of the 
people thought with him? (At the time a majority of the voters 
in Illinois thought with Douglas.) 

Was “The Great Tribute” about these debates? (I think you 
mean “The Perfect Tribute” by Mary Andrews. No, that is 
about the Gettysburg Address. We will come to it later.) 

3. What was the idea about the tariff? Was it just to make trouble 
or did the people really think it bad? (A great many people 
thought it bad. A great many do now.) 

4. Which was the Republican’s first national convention? (1856. 
See p. 381.) 

5. I have looked up the three words: “recruits,” “dovetailed,” and 

6 Hart, Albert Bushnell, School History of the United States. American 
Book Co.; McMaster, John Bach, School History of the United States. 
American Book Co., New York. 

7 Barstow, Charles L., A New Nation. Century Co., 1925. 


STIMULATING THE QUESTIONING ATTITUDE 25 

“predominance,” on page 388 near top, and still do not under¬ 
stand them. (I will explain.) 

6. Who was the chairman of The Democratic Convention? (I do 
not know. Not important.) 


Ques. 
page 382. 

Ans. 

Ques. 
page 383. 

Ans. 

Ques. 
page 383. 
Ans. 


Ques. 

Ans. 

Ques. 
PAGE 388. 
Ans. 


Third Paper 

How did a poor slave like Scott get his case taken to the 
Supreme Court? Didn’t somebody do it for him? 

(I don’t know. I will try to find out more about it.) 

Lincoln-Douglas debates. 

Did Lincoln have a political career before this? 

(Mem. Ill. State legislature, Rep. of Ill. in U. S. House 
of Rep. 1847-1849.) 

How did the debates come about? 

(Campaign speeches. Lincoln replied to a speech in which 
Douglas stated that the Compromise of 1850 had repealed 
the Missouri Compromise. Read about the debates in 
A New Nation .) 8 

Is there a limit to the number of votes a president must 
have to be elected? 

(He must have a majority of the electoral votes.) 

What does “dovetailed” mean? 

(I will explain.) 


It will be noted that this child left spaces for answers. 
This arrangement was especially commended by the teacher, 
and later was adopted by several members of the class. 

Sometimes an entire class period is devoted to private 
conferences. One after another the children are called up 
to discuss their questions with the teacher. Supplementary 
work is provided for those at their seats. In order that the 
8 Ibid. 


26 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

work may progress rapidly the papers have been red-inked. 
A few illustrations are given, the words in parentheses being 
the ones which appeared in red ink on the original papers . 9 

One Child’s Questions 

1. Why was it that the Free Soil Party declined? 

2. Did it do any good? 

3. Did it ever get another candidate elected? (Did it ever elect a 

candidate? See Table of Pres.) 

4. I would like to know more about the Underground Railroad. 

(Building the Nation , Gordy, Hart, Muzzey.) 10 

5. Was Calhoun from North or South? (Index.) 

6. Did the agitators do as much good as this book lets them do? 

(Open question.) 

7. I did not get the idea of the gag rule. (Confer.) 

The Conference as Reported by the Teacher 

John was told that so many had inquired about the Free Soil Party 
that it would be further discussed in class, so questions one and two 
were passed by. 

Question 3. He turned to the Table of Presidents in the appendix. 
In the column headed “Party” he looked in vain for any Free Soiler. 
I asked him what made him think there was a Free Soil president. 
“The book said MaEjtin Van Buren was one.” 

“Show me where it says that,” I replied. 

He turned to page 380 where it is stated that Martin Van Buren 
was nominated by the Free Soil Party in 1848, “and obtained nearly 
300,000 votes.” He then realized that the book did not say that 
he was elected, that he had merely jumped to that conclusion. 

Question 4. I suggested that when we were through conferring he 
might get from the reference shelf a copy of Building the Nation or 

9 The assignment concerned “The Abolition Movement,” pages 372-380 
in Beard & Bagley’s History. 

10 Coffin, Charles C., Building the Nation. Harper and Brothers. 

Gordy, Wilbur F., A History of the United States. Charles Scribner’s Sons. 
Hart, A. B., A School History of the United States. American Book Co. 
Muzzey, D. S., An American History. Ginn and Co. 


STIMULATING THE QUESTIONING ATTITUDE 27 

of one of the histories referred to and read about the Underground 
Railroad. 

Question 5. Together we turned to the Index and under Calhoun 
found five page references. We looked them up and found the fol¬ 
lowing statements: 

p. 259, “Southern statesmen like Calhoun. . . .” 

262, “In this contest John C. Calhoun of South Caro¬ 
lina. . . ” 

277, “On the other hand Calhoun, the statesman of South 

Carolina. . . .” 

278, “It was not until 1844 that he (President Tyler) chose 

Calhoun as Secretary of State and authorized him to 
make a treaty annexing Texas. (John knew what sec¬ 
tion of the country wanted Texas annexed.) 

376, “For instance, Calhoun, Senator from South Caro¬ 
lina. . . .” 

A series of pictures which recorded John’s changes in expression 
as we read one reference after another would be interesting! He 
was also reminded that an encyclopedia might have been useful! 

Question 6. We discussed this question quite thoroughly. I told 
John how some people thought that agitators do more harm than 
good, because they irritate people, that others feel that each evil 
should be attacked vigorously. 

Question 7. I paraphrased the paragraph in which the gag rule 
was explained. 

When children are first asked to hand in their questions 
most of them refer to the meaning of the text. Often 
children simply list a number of words which they cannot 
define. More and more they are thrown back on the dic¬ 
tionary in such cases. “Did you look it up? ” A time comes 
when they do not ask the meaning of a word without pref¬ 
acing the request with the statement, “I looked up- 

but still cannot understand what is meant.” 

Gradually also such statements as “I do not understand 



28 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


the first paragraph on page—” grow less in number as the 
children learn to read more carefully and voluntarily to use 
the dictionary, atlas, index, etc. Increasingly the papers 
contain requests for additional information, or for an ex¬ 
pression of the teacher’s opinion on some subject. In the 
case of an occasional child, the papers come to be largely 
an interchange of ideas between pupil and teacher. In 
one Seventh Grade, one pupil and her teacher often corre¬ 
sponded in this wise: “I think that the first four lines in our 
lesson were altogether prejudiced. Are they?” (Ans. “I 
agree with you.”) Be it noted, however, that they did not 
always agree. The child who had independence enough to 
criticize the book, would not accept all the opinions of the 
teacher, and the teacher rejoiced, the object of teaching 
being to get pupils to think, not to get them to absorb the 
teacher’s opinions. 

The geography teacher reports that she handles most of 
the questions in class, the treatment varying according to 
the nature of the question. Sometimes a little help from 
the teacher will enable the child to answer his own question. 
Sometimes other pupils can give him the help he needs, or 
answer the question outright. Again, it may be assigned 
for further investigation by the child, the matter to be re¬ 
ported upon later. Really difficult questions must usually 
be answered by the teacher. They often motivate the best 
kind of development lessons. “Some questions are so pro¬ 
found that I say quite frankly that I do not know, as it is a 
matter for a geologist, a chemist, a bacteriologist, or some 
other specialist. Some questions I volunteer to investi¬ 
gate; some are still unsolved by science. But whatever the 
treatment, if we can lead pupils to word their difficulties, 
we have gone far in teaching them howTo study.” 


STIMULATING THE QUESTIONING ATTITUDE 29 

A few typical questions from a Seventh Grade are given 
below with a statement of the way in which each one was 
handled: 

1. “Why is it that the land gets warm and cold quicker than the 

water?” 

This required explanation by the teacher. The text stated 
the fact but gave no reason. 

2. “If mountains are the cause of cold climate, then why shouldn’t 

the rest of the earth, including the poles, have the same climate?” 

In this child’s mind one element dominated and the other 
causes of climate were neglected. The teacher put this ques¬ 
tion to the class and quickly the other pupils pointed out that 
mountains are not the only cause of climate, and gave the other 
causes. The questioner saw how superficial his study had been. 

3. “I do not understand why and how the trade winds are affected 

by the turning of the earth.” 

This is a really difficult problem requiring demonstration with 
a blackboard globe and chalk. 

4. “If the sun’s rays cause the heat in the torrid zone, then why 

shouldn’t any mountains in this zone be warmer than the rest 
of the land, because the mountains are nearer the sun?” 

This showed good thinking with insufficient data. The teacher 
gave the needed explanation. 

5. “If the trade winds start from the North and South and blow to¬ 

ward the equator, what happens when they meet at the equa¬ 
tor?” 

This question revealed superficial study and was soon dis¬ 
posed of by the class as the textbook had explained the point. 

6. “Why do winds usually blow from the west after a low?” 

Here, again, was superficial study and another pupil explained 
this point. 

7. “Is this a cyclonic storm?” 

It was a fine chance to check up on its characteristics. This 
led into systematic observation of the weather and keeping 
daily records of temperature, barometric pressure, and winds. 
The science teacher demonstrated and explained the making 
of a barometer. Some attempts at forecasting were made and 
the government weather reports were eagerly observed. 


30 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Consideration of these question-papers may well come to 
consume too much of the teacher’s time. It may be neces¬ 
sary occasionally to look through a set very hastily, mak¬ 
ing note of and answering only the outstanding questions. 
Dr. McMurry sounds this note of caution very emphatically: 

It is desirable that a teacher prepare each day’s lessons in full, 
and that she do a hundred other things each day, as well. But when 
she cannot do all these—and she never can—it is highly important 
that she apportion her time according to relative values; for instance, 
it is far better that she omit some of her preparation of lessons, for 
the sake of recreation, if recreation would otherwise be omitted. 
People are unfitted for the work of life until they view it in fair 
perspective. 11 

11 McMurry, Frank M., How to Study and Teaching How to Study y 
p. 125, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1909. 


CHAPTER II 


HELPING THE CHILD TO GET FOOD FOR 
THOUGHT 

In assigning a lesson for study, the teacher should have 
in mind not only the first step, the specific aim, but the 
succeeding steps as well. It may be that she should make 
suggestions in regard to them. The pupils’ task is not 
merely to assimilate the ideas which have been suggested, 
but to enlarge upon them, to gather new material, to organ¬ 
ize the same, and in the end to reach some conclusion. So, 
as soon as he understands clearly what he is trying to 
accomplish during the study period, he must proceed to the 
next step; namely, gathering the data necessary to the 
solving of his problem. Where shall he turn ? 

We enter a wide field in the discussion of gathering data 
as there are so many sources to be considered. We shall 
take up several of these: 

I. Past experience. 

II. Books. 

A. Textbooks. 

B. Supplementary reading. 

III. Illustrative material. 

A. Pictures. 

B. Moving pictures. 

IV. Experiments. 

V. Excursions. 

In preparing for this step, it is well not to suggest all pos¬ 
sible sources, thus leaving opportunity for individual initia- 
31 


32 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


tive. The child who thinks of some source of information 
which has not been suggested in class experiences the 
thrill of discovery. His evident delight inspires others to 
try to do likewise. The leading citizens in any community 
are the persons who think out things for themselves and 
lead others in carrying out plans for improvement. Leaders 
are born and not made, but we want to be sure that we are 
not unmaking any possible leaders by stifling this spirit. 
Moreover, we should encourage initiative in all pupils, 
that the germ may be developed in each to the highest 
degree possible for that individual. 

The need to guard against too complete preparation in the 
early stages of stydy was borne in upon one English teacher 
by the comment of a former pupil. The young woman sent 
her old teacher a copy of her first book of poems. The 
teacher sent the young author a copy of a charming verse 
which she had written years before as a little Fourth 
Grade girl. The poet replied, “I remember the occasion 
of the hepatica poem distinctly, even to the feeling that you 
were helping us so well that I would have none of the 
creator’s joy!” 

I. GATHERING DATA FROM PAST EXPERIENCE 

Before the student makes use of any of the outside sources 
listed above, he should turn to his own mind, that he may 
draw upon his reservoir of concepts and images, his a apper¬ 
ceptive mass.” This step is sometimes taken with the 
children during the assignment of the lesson. As was 
stated above, “ Often, before beginning an assignment, we 
discuss what we already know about the subject and what 
we should like to find out.” 1 

Certain it is, however, that very many high school and 
1 P. 15. 


HELPING TO GET FOOD FOR THOUGHT 33 


college students have not formed the habit of devoting time 
to a conscious searching of their own experience before 
they turn to some outside source of information, and we ele¬ 
mentary teachers are to blame. We have not trained the 
children to such conscious use of their own resources. 

Not only before beginning to gather data from an out¬ 
side source, but frequently during that process, the student 
may supplement by recalling information previously ac¬ 
quired. 

Such supplementing is especially important in the case of 
textbooks. Even the best texts, because of limited space, 
state many facts so briefly that they mean little to a child. 
Often he can better the situation by filling in details. The 
history lesson which follows illustrates how this can be 
done. 

The class was considering the Settlement of America. 
A section in the textbook is headed, “ Difficulties and Dan¬ 
gers of Settlement,” and under this heading are two sub¬ 
heads: 1. “The Dangers of the Voyage,” and 2. “Indians.” 2 

The children were directed to read this heading and the 
two subheads, then to close their books and each to make 
a mental list of the points which he would group under 
each of these subheads. Several lists were given and dis¬ 
cussed before the children read what the authors had to 
say. They found that they already knew almost all that 
the authors had to tell, which was a joyful discovery. It 
was pointed out that they had benefited by reviewing the 
information in this systematic manner, that they were be¬ 
ginning to understand better what it meant to found 
colonies in America; and to get better acquainted with men 
and women who laid the foundations of our national life. 

2 Beard and Bagley, History of the American People , pp. 38-41. The 
Macmillan Co., 1919. 


34 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


Then the children were asked whether they could think 
of any dangers or difficulties which the authors had omitted 
to mention. Hands went up all over the room, but the 
teacher said, “ Don’t tell me now. Do it during the study 
period.” 

It was decided that the book covered the voyage pretty 
thoroughly, but that the Indians were by no means re¬ 
sponsible for all the difficulties which faced the colonists on 
land. The work assigned for the study period was to make 
an outline of the points given on pages 38-41, and to add 
other points under a subheading—“ Dangers on Land,” 
the “ Indians” to come as one point under this heading. 

Among the points noted were: 

Difficulty of securing food. 

Cold winters. 

Forests to be cut down. 

Not enough tools to work with. 

Disease. 

Bad doctors. 

Homesickness. 

Some children stated four or five details, others only one 
or two, a very few none at all. 

There must be many, many exercises demanding this 
type of introspection before the habit will be established. 
History textbooks abound in instances of such brief, lifeless 
statements which must somehow or other be vitalized in 
order that they may serve to develop in the children a 
sympathetic understanding of the struggles of humanity 
in its endeavor to reach a higher plane—the greatest good 
resulting from the study of history. In many instances the 
children, by recalling related images which will come to the 
foreground if they take time to reflect, can greatly enrich 
the meager statements. 


HELPING TO GET FOOD FOR THOUGHT 35 


Even the best books often slur details, sometimes to such 
an extent that outside sources must be consulted before the 
situation is sufficiently clear to suggest any relation to 
others previously known. Consider, for instance, the 
following passage from one of the best concerning the 
founding of Rhode Island : 3 

Although the Puritans had suffered much from religious perse¬ 
cution in England, they were unwilling to tolerate in their own midst 
people who did not agree with them in religious matters. For many 
years any new sect that appeared in Massachusetts was badly treated, 
and its members were driven into the inland wildernesses. 

In 1636, Roger Williams, who had been preaching at Salem 
doctrines which were displeasing to the Puritans, was banished from 
Massachusetts. With a little group of followers, he went south and 
laid out the town of Providence. Other settlements, including one 
in Rhode Island, soon followed. Seven years later, in 1643, the in¬ 
habitants of this new community were able to get from the English 
Parliament a charter forming them into an independent colony, 
Providence Plantations. Twenty years later Charles II granted 
Rhode Island and Providence a new charter which was kept as a 
constitution until 1843. 

This account leaves most children quite cold, with no 
appreciation of the courage required and the hardships 
endured for the sake of an ideal. 

Let us see what happened when the class was started to 
imagining what this journey must have been like. The 
children discussed the situation: 

“We must find out how long a distance Williams traveled and then 
we can estimate how long it took him.” 

“We need to know whether or not he had to cross rivers.” 

“He had to go most of the way through the forests, and . . .” 

“Unless he took a boat . . .” 

“That wouldn’t have been likely. Where’d he have gotten his 
3 Ibid., p. 54. 


36 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


boat?” chimed in another. “Any way it says,—‘driven out into the 
inland wildernesses.’ ” 

“The way the Indians felt toward him would make a lot of differ¬ 
ence. Were they friendly?” 

The children were beginning to get interested in Roger 
Williams. He was becoming a personality, not merely a 
name to be memorized with a fact and a date attached. 
But they had found that they knew too little to follow his 
journeyings. Obviously they must gather more data from 
some other source before they could imagine that journey. 

They turned to reference books. In Thwaites and Ken¬ 
dall , 4 they found that one of the “ doctrines displeasing 
to the Puritans ” was Williams’s belief that “the king had 
no right to make grants of land in America, for it really 
belonged to the Indians.” Heads nodded— 

“The Indians would be friendly.” 

They gained another fact—“He escaped in the bitter cold 
and deep snow of mid-winter, to seek refuge in an Indian 
hut on the shores of Narragansett Bay.” 

From Bourne and Benton 5 they gleaned the following: 

He had often visited the Indians, could speak their language, and 
was looked upon by them as a friend. The Indians gave him a hearty 
welcome, took him into their wigwams and shared their scanty sup¬ 
plies of food with him. In the spring a few followers from Salem 
joined him and together they marked out the site for a new settle¬ 
ment beyond the territories of either Massachusetts Bay or Plym¬ 
outh. They called it Providence, believing that a good Providence 
had guided them to so excellent a location. Roger Williams paid 
the Indians $150 for the land, which seemed to the Indians a great 
sum. 

4 Thwaites and Kendall, A History of the United States , pp. 85-86. Hough¬ 
ton Mifflin Co., 1924. 

6 Bourne and Benton, History of the United States, pp. 63-64. D. C. Heath 
and Co., 1925. 


HELPING TO GET FOOD FOR THOUGHT 37 


The map showed them that from Salem to Providence is 
sixty miles “as the crow flies/’ but of course he could not 
go in a straight line, and there were rivers to be crossed. 

By that time the children were ready to reflect, each for 
himself calling up the images that would make vivid to 
him the days of tramping through the snow-choked forests, 
the nights spent, perhaps, under the shelter of low-spreading 
trees; the joy of coming upon an Indian encampment, etc. 

Though many of the details were not strictly accurate, 
the children now had some comprehension of the character 
of the man and the kind of hardships he must have endured. 
And even if they should never read more about Roger 
Williams, they had learned one of the great truths which 
his story should teach them; namely, that one must often 
suffer for an ideal. 

But they would be glad to read more about this man 
whom they had come first to pity and then to respect. If 
the teacher could produce an interesting book about Roger 
Williams, it would not lack for readers. 6 The children 
would be glad to learn that Williams went to England 
and obtained for Providence, Portsmouth, and Newport 
the right to rule themselves, and delighted to find that in 
the colony started by him, religious toleration was the 
rule. And they would be likely to remember these facts 
better than if they had begun by reading rather than by 
attempting to imagine the experiences, calling up the pic¬ 
tures from the stock in their own minds. 

We have been talking of this process as “gathering data.” 
So it is;—we might from another angle characterize it 
as “application of knowledge.” 

6 The story is well told in American Leaders and Heroes , by Wilbur F. 
Gordy, Charles Scribner’s Sons; and in Heroes and Founders of America , 
by Anna E. Foote & Avery W. Skinner. American Book Company. 


38 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


In books on methods of teaching, emphasis is laid upon 
the necessity of relating the new to the old, and most 
teachers in elementary schools attempt to do this in devel¬ 
opment lessons, but many, perhaps most, fail to train their 
pupils consciously to take this step when they are studying 
independently. It might seem that the children would un¬ 
consciously imitate the teacher’s method, but few do. It 
is easier to read what someone else has thought out than to 
do one’s own thinking, and we all are prone to follow the 
line of least resistance. 

This failure to realize that the last step in the study of one 
unit may form the first step in the study of another related 
unit causes much wastage; here a useful bit of knowledge in 
an air-tight compartment; there another; no path between; 
just so many remembered facts which do not function. 

This suggests the possibility of one unfortunate result 
from the drill in silent reading which has been so enthu¬ 
siastically recommended. Under the caption “ Concentra¬ 
tion of Attention,” Dr. O’Brien states that “Much of the 
time consumed in apparent reading is, in reality, lost 
through unconscious wanderings of the attention and 
fruitless daydreaming. The eyes often remain fixed upon 
the page while the mind is visiting distant climes and is 
busy ‘ building castles in Spain.’” 7 

We have there the picture of a reader allowing his 
thoughts to drift, undirected and unchecked, from associa¬ 
tion to association. The result is that he not only reads 
slowly but inaccurately. “ Rapid readers not only averaged 
approximately 37 per cent superiority in the quality of their 
work, but also introduced less extraneous matter in their 
reproduction.” 8 

7 O’Brien, John A., Silent Reading, p. 63. The Macmillan Co., 1921. 

* Ibid., p. 64. 


HELPING TO GET FOOD FOR THOUGHT 39 


But in studying the aim is not simply to gain an accurate 
idea of the author’s thought and reproduce the same, but 
to weigh that thought, to appropriate or reject it accord¬ 
ing as it does or does not fit in with the purpose of the 
study. This takes time. So we have before us the double 
task: we must train the children first to read rapidly in 
order to get at the thought of the author free from extra¬ 
neous matter, and then to stop and reflect upon that 
thought, question it, supplement it, assimilate it. 

II. GATHERING DATA FROM BOOKS 
A. Textbooks 

Some textbooks seem especially designed to thwart the 
pupil in his efforts to study intelligently, but there is no 
dearth of excellent books, and it is most important that only 
such texts should be placed in the hands of the young 
student. 

In the second place, it is important that the teacher 
should be allowed to choose from among a number of suit¬ 
able books, the one which she would prefer to use. If 
forced to use a book which does not satisfy her, she will be 
handicapped in her teaching. 

Assuming then a good textbook, reliable, unbiased, 
sufficiently full to be interesting, well arranged, well in¬ 
dexed, with adequate reviews, well-worded questions, and 
good illustrations; assuming the teacher to be satisfied with 
the book, let us consider how it is to be used. Not nec¬ 
essarily, not usually, by beginning at page one and going 
through to the end. More often the children are assigned, 
or select for themselves, a certain topic to master or prob¬ 
lem to solve. The author’s arrangement should never be 
allowed to be a handicap in the use of the book. 


40 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

The method employed in gathering data from the text¬ 
book will be determined in any given instance by the angle 
from which the group is approaching the topic under 
consideration, and by the character of the students, their 
mentality, their maturity, the amount of instruction they 
have had in methods of study, etc. A few illustrations of 
methods used are given below: 

A Fifth Grade had just finished the study of Switzerland 
and were beginning the study of Austria. They were told 
that they were to have a chance to find out a number of 
things for themselves. Some questions were written on 
the board to guide them in gathering data. The answers 
were to be written by the pupils. 

The four questions given below could not all be answered 
in one forty-minute period: 

1. How is Austria like Switzerland? 

2. Arrange the industries and products of Austria in two columns 

as we did for Switzerland. Name any city noted for a product. 

3. From your list tell how Austria differs from Switzerland in its 

industries. 

4. Find all the countries which formerly were part of the Austro- 

Hungarian Empire. List these and be able to locate them. 

Question 2 , above, was given to follow up a lesson in 
which the class helped to classify the products of Switzer¬ 
land under the proper industries. 

The answers to such questions are sometimes collected 
so that the teacher may check up the ability of the pupils 
to get information from the printed page. Sometimes the 
answers are discussed and checked in class. 9 

9 In the three Barrows-Parker geographies (Silver, Burdett and Co.), 
each region is preceded by careful directions for reading so that the pupil 
studies under the guidance of three or four large questions. Journeys in 
Distant Lands, 1924; The United States and Canada , 1925; Europe and 
Asia, 1927. 


HELPING TO GET FOOD FOR THOUGHT 41 

Under the heading, “Questioning Attitude of Mind,” 
mention was made of a class studying Mexico with the 
question in mind, c Why does Mexico have so many 
revolutions?” The work proceeded as follows: 

A tentative list of possible causes of the Mexican revolu¬ 
tion was written on the board to be checked up after study. 
The first source consulted was the textbook. 10 The pupils 
turned quickly to the general subject “ Mexico.” It was 
not necessary to read all the author gives to find material 
to help solve this problem, for the book has paragraph 
headings which indicate the contents. Pupils were not 
permitted to give irrelevant information just because the 
facts were given in the book. The authors did not have 
just our problem in mind. 

For several years our Sixth Grade used the History of the 
American People by Beard and Bagley, The 1919 edition 
begins with a chapter on “ European Beginnings of Ameri¬ 
can History.” For our Sixth Grade this is largely review. 
Several periods were devoted to oral review of life in the 
Middle Ages before the new book was put into the chil¬ 
dren’s hands. At least one lesson was devoted to getting 
acquainted with the general scheme of the book, and the 
aids to its use. 11 Then came the day when the children 
began proudly to study the new book. 

As with all the chapters of this book, the first few par¬ 
agraphs of the first chapter constitute an introduction, a 
sort of prelude, which makes clear the aim of the chapter, 
and creates the proper atmosphere. Usually the teacher 
reads these aloud with but little comment. 

On page 4 is a black-typed heading, “ Why the American 

10 McMurry and Parkins, Advanced Geography (The Macmillan Co., 1925) 
was used in this class. 

11 See chapter on Mastery of Certain Common Tools, pp. 222-229. 


42 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


Explorers and Colonists Came From Western Europe.” 
With one group, as soon as that had been read the children 
were directed to close their books, and to think out as many 
reasons as they could. Then they were told to turn to the 
map of “ Europe in the Middle of the Sixteenth Century,” 
to see whether from it they could find any other reasons. 

After several children had stated all the reasons they 
had found, both by reflection on past knowledge, and by 
study of the map, the class read the paragraphs in the book. 
They were told to see how many of the points already dis¬ 
cussed were given by the book, and what new points were 
given in addition to those. 

The second division of the chapter has to do with the 
“Life of the People in Europe,” a subject to which much 
time is given in the Fifth Grade. The children were ex¬ 
pected to study this quite independently, making mental 
notes of the points brought out by the authors. 12 The notes 
were given and discussed in class. Later on, each child 
handed in a set of written notes. 

The Seventh Grade uses the same textbook. One group 
when studying the “Monroe Doctrine ” on page 242 (page 
229,1925 Edition) brought up the question of the Spanish- 
American War, desiring to know “whether the Monroe 
Doctrine had anything to do with it,” so we turned to 
pages 544-551 (pages 550-554, 1925 Edition) and studied 
the war quite out of its chronological order. 

In this study, as with the study of all wars, we made no 
attempt at thoroughness in regard to the events of the war. 
A knowledge of causes and results will be of more value 
to the citizen of tomorrow in his efforts to work against 
war. 

12 They had had several lessons on note-taking. See Chapter III. 


HELPING TO GET FOOD FOR THOUGHT 43 

II. GATHERING DATA FROM BOOKS 
B. Supplementary Reading 

So much attention has been given of late to the matter of 
supplementary reading that it seems unnecessary to devote 
much space to it here. Surely we can say with Solomon, 
“Of making many books there is no end.” The danger is 
that children will read too much rather than too little. 

If simply told to read more about a given topic, the 
child is likely to take the first book that he can lay his 
hands upon which seems to bear upon the subject and pro¬ 
ceed to read it from cover to cover. The trained adult 
student tries to secure a book by some authority on the 
subject under consideration. Then he consults the table of 
contents and index and reads only such portions of the 
book as are of value for his particular purpose. He may 
read several books in this selective manner making notes 
and comparing the ideas of the different authors. And 
this should be the procedure of the child student as well. 13 

Since elementary children seldom are able to judge of the 
qualifications of different authors, they must be directed to 
the right sources. Once they have learned that a particular 
author is unreliable, they should avoid him, and vice versa, 
choose the works of writers who have been proved to be 
trustworthy. In the early years the important thing is for 
them to learn that not all that is in print is to be relied upon. 

The following statement shows how one teacher guides 
the children in the matter of outside reading. 

Many library books are selected with a view to their 
expanding geographical knowledge in story form, or with 

13 The matter of note-taking is discussed under “Note-Taking and Out¬ 
lining,” pp. 67-85. 


44 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


more interest than textbook space permits. When a region 
or an industry is being studied, the teacher selects a book 
that deals with the topic and reads a page or two aloud 
to the class. “ Who wants to read this book? 57 is responded 
to by many hands, and then and there it starts in circula¬ 
tion. So with articles taken from the National Geograph¬ 
ical Magazine , the Geographical News Bulletin , and other 
sources, some being loaned by the pupils. Large manila 
envelopes are used to protect them. Pupils are encouraged 
to volunteer to do supplementary reading by such state¬ 
ments as, “This will help you to understand the North¬ 
lands” 14 or, “This is a good story of New England fisher¬ 
men,” 15 or “Here are harvest scenes.” 16 Recently in the 
Sixth Grade, every child had some supplementary reading 
and it required a special librarian to check up the books. 
One book was read by every member of the class, the others 
by 90% of the class or less. None of this was compulsory. 

Much the same method is used by the history teachers. 

The ideal book supplementary to the arithmetic text has 
not been written. If arithmetic is to help the child to 
interpret life in its numerical aspects, there should be avail¬ 
able masses of numerical data of vital import ready to be 
drawn upon with less waste of time and effort than at pres¬ 
ent. The best problems with practical content found in the 

14 Stefansson and Irwan, Kak. The Macmillan Co., 1925. 

Stefansson and Schwartz, Northward Ho. The Macmillan Co., 1925. 

Grenfell, W. T., Adrift on an Ice-pan. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1914. 

Muir, John, Stickeen. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1914. 

Gilman, Isabel, Alaska, the American Northland. (Inter-American 
Readers.) The World Book Co., 1922. 

Putnam, David Binney, David Goes to Greenland. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 
1926. And many more. 

15 Kipling, Captains Courageous, Doubleday, Page and Co., 1896. 

16 Harvest Scenes of the World published by International Harvester Com¬ 

pany of America. 


HELPING TO GET FOOD FOR THOUGHT 45 


best modern textbooks are still set problems external to the 
child and not inspired by his desire for the solution. There 
should be frequent opportunities to construct and solve 
problems from live data in the world of affairs. Such 
data can be obtained, with considerable assistance by the 
teacher, from the appendix to the geography text, from the 
Stock Exchange and Real Estate columns of the daily 
papers, from many magazine articles, preeminently from 
the World Almanac , and from various incidental sources. 
Data for the parcel post and express problems described on 
pages 134-135 were obtained from official tables. The math¬ 
ematics teacher who wishes to make her subject genuinely 
educative must be ever on the alert for opportunities to 
introduce her children to useful numerical situations. 

III. GATHERING DATA FROM ILLUSTRATIVE 
MATERIAL 

A. Picture Study 

The very fact that the books of today are so profusely 
illustrated tends to blunt the children’s perceptions. Where 
there are so many pictures little attention is paid to any 
one. The child gets into the habit of glancing at a pic¬ 
ture hurriedly, experiencing a momentary sense of pleasure, 
and passing on to the next without having learned any¬ 
thing definite from the first one. Movies have been called, 
“the drug habit of the mind.” To a certain extent, much 
of the illustrative material put before the modern child is 
open to the same condemnation unless the child is taught 
how to study it. As one teacher puts it, “ Pupils seem really 
immune to the education in pictures. In contrast to our 
grandparents who paused over every chance picture they 
could find, the modem child is so surfeited that in sheer 


46 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


self-defense he barely glances at those placed before him 
without definite purpose. He must be trained in their 
use.” 

Furthermore, those who are familiar with the Binet 
scale will remember that it is only on the 12-year level that 
children can be expected to explain or interpret pictures. 
Earlier than this enumeration or description is the rule. 
For example, consider for a moment the credited inter¬ 
pretations of one of the standard pictures in the Terman 
revision of the Binet scale. 

“ Child has spilled something and is getting a scolding,” 
or “The baby has hurt herself and the mother is comforting 
her,” or “The little girl has been naughty and is about to be 
punished.” 

Now even in a group of 10-14 year old children with 
median I. Q. 120, a not inconsiderable number do not pass 
this particular test but give descriptive replies like the 
following:— 

“It is a Dutch home. I know because there is a wind¬ 
mill outside, and the people are dressed that way.” 

“It’s in Holland and the little girl is crying and her 
mother is looking at her.” 

If such replies come spontaneously in an intelligence 
test, it is clear that before pictures can be assumed to be 
practical sources of data, there must be conscious and defi¬ 
nite training in searching for the significance of illustrative 
pictures. This matter is attacked from various angles. 

In one class, a series of questions concerning pictures in 
the texts revealed to the children themselves the fact that 
they really knew nothing about them. Then the question 
was asked, “How is a picture like a paragraph?” These 
were children who had had the work in analyzing para- 


HELPING TO GET FOOD FOR THOUGHT 47 


graphs, an account of which will be found under “ Organi¬ 
zation of Data,” and the answer came promptly, “A pic¬ 
ture may show many things but we must study it to find out 
the one thing it has to teach us.” This one thing may be 
the size of a sequoia, cutting grain with a cradle, how candles 
were dipped, the arrangement of seats in the Senate Cham¬ 
ber, or what not. There is some one fact or process or 
principle to be observed. 

This point established, it might be well to hold each child 
responsible for making clear to his classmates the important 
point in one picture relevant to some subject which had 
recently interested the class. 

One way of studying pictures is by the “ pupil-lecturer ” 
method. One child in every five or six is selected to study 
certain pictures in advance. This is done under supervision. 
Then he lectures to his small group, making each picture 
tell its story. When he has finished, the group moves on to 
another “lecturer,” and a new group comes to him. So it 
continues until each group has seen all the pictures. Thus 
are studied pictures of the fishing industry, lumbering, 
iron smelting, the evolution of harvesting, life in the old 
Spanish Missions, the home industries of the colonists, 
etc. These child lecturers study their pictures very earn¬ 
estly, asking the teacher to explain points which many 
observers would pass over entirely. If during the year 
each child is given a number of opportunities to lecture, 
something will be accomplished toward fixing the habit of 
careful observation of illustrative material. 

It is well that the teacher should occasionally be one of 
the lecturers. The children feel her greater power and may 
gain through imitation of her methods. 

An excellent way of inducing careful study of a picture is 


48 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


to have the children write a title for it. 17 A lesson typical 
of this procedure is taken from a study of lumbering. 

Lumbering, as it is carried on in New England, was ex¬ 
plained and illustrated by pictures. Then the class read 
about lumbering elsewhere in the United States and pic¬ 
tures were exhibited which supplemented the text. The 
pupils took paper and pencil and wrote titles for the pic¬ 
tures, each picture being numbered for the purpose. There 
were titles printed under some of the pictures, and in some 
cases explanatory paragraphs as well. In these cases, the 
children were to select better titles if possible. When 
there were two pictures of the same thing they were to try 
to indicate by their titles why each was shown. When 
finished, the pupils read their titles and discussed the pic¬ 
tures, having the best titles checked. 

If anyone needs to be convinced that a picture does not 
always teach itself, the following errors may be convincing: 

1. A donkey engine with a horse standing by ready 
to pull the cable to the distant log which was to be hauled 
in by the engine. An explanation was beneath the picture. 

One child gave this title, 

“Carting logs with donkeys.” 

Another wrote, 

“Horses draw logs.” 

Among the correct titles were, 

“Moving logs with donkey engines.” 

“Logs being moved by cable.” 

“How people move logs out of forests by means of donkey engines.” 

17 In the Barrows-Parker geographies (Silver, Burdett and Co.) picture 
study is made a definite part of the instruction. The illustrations are un¬ 
named and the child’s interest is skillfully led now to the pictures, now to 
reading—each incomplete without the other. 


HELPING TO GET FOOD FOR THOUGHT 


49 


2. A fallen sequoia with carriage and horses standing on 
the huge tree trunk. 

Errors: 

“Teams of horses pulling logs.” 

“Lumber pulled by horses.” 

“Wagons of people going to lumber camp.” 

“Scene in a forest, a carriage in a tree.” 

Among the correct titles were: 

“ Compares carriage with fallen tree.” 

“Showing size of trees.” 

“Shows comparison between tree and cart with horses.” 

“Compares horses and men to fallen tree to show size.” 

“Horses and wagon able to stand on a big tree.” 

After these titles were compared and discussed no child 
still thought that a “big tree” is pulled by horses. In fact 
apologies were offered for the foolish answers which showed 
that these few failed to think at all. 

III. GATHERING DATA FROM ILLUSTRATIVE 
MATERIAL 

B. Moving Pictures 

While it is true that “ movies ” may, and often do act as 
mental narcotics, they may be of educational value if looked 
at alertly and with an end in view. Apparently they have 
come to stay, and it is important that this generation of 
children should learn how to profit from them. 

It has been clearly shown that children often miss the 
point of a “ still ” picture when they have plenty of time to 
examine it. How much more often will this be the case 
when the picture flies by rapidly, and there is no chance for 
a second look. 


50 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


It is important that in the children’s minds there shall 
be some basis for understanding each film. Most films 
are shown as reviews rather than as introductions to new 
material. For example, industrial films are generally 
complex, and even when a process is shown clearly, it is too 
fleeting for many of the children to understand. But if 
the children have already studied pictures and diagrams 
of the process, they may get a great deal from seeing the 
mechanism in action. 

If possible, the teacher should have seen the film before 
it is shown to the children. She is then prepared to offer a 
word of explanation, answer a question, point out a detail, 
and so insure more complete understanding. It is most 
important that the children should be in a questioning 
frame of mind throughout, or they will be harmed rather 
than benefited. 

But even when there has been careful preparation before 
a film is shown, and when the teacher is able to answer 
brief questions as the picture passes before them, there is 
frequently need of discussion when the children return to 
the classroom. Consider, for instance, “The Story of Coal.” 
A class may have studied coal mining, but there are likely 
to be some differences between the process as demonstrated 
on the screen and as described in their books. The children 
are eager to discuss these differences. Some are only 
apparent and can be reconciled. Others bring out vary¬ 
ing methods in different localities. Probably some children 
have misunderstood certain points and need to be set 
right. 

Sometimes films used to review or illustrate one point 
contain also matter which is foreign to the subject as it has 
been developed in the classroom. It is especially impor¬ 
tant that the children be allowed to ask questions after 


HELPING TO GET FOOD FOR THOUGHT 51 


seeing such a picture. For example, the film “ Beyond the 
Microscope ” was shown after making oxygen and hydrogen 
in the classroom. This picture shows the decomposition 
of water into oxygen and hydrogen and how hydrogen 
burns and oxygen supports combustion. Animated draw¬ 
ings show the structure of the atoms which make up hydro¬ 
gen and oxygen, and how these atoms combine to form 
water. The action of nuclei, electrons, ions, etc., is repre¬ 
sented. Water is made by exploding oxygen and hydrogen 
by passing through them an electric spark. Also there is 
shown the effect of heat on the activity of molecules and 
how molecules act when frozen or formed into snowflake^. 

The class had greatly enjoyed the classroom demon¬ 
stration, and they enjoyed and appreciated the pictured 
process of forming water from the gases and the action of 
heat and cold on molecules. But the diagrammatic repre¬ 
sentation and the animated drawings were very confusing 
to Seventh Grade pupils. Their first reaction was that 
they did not understand the picture. However, as the 
teacher discussed the film with them, she readily found 
what had confused them and was able to clear away the 
difficulties, thus making the whole experience an instructive 
one. 

IV. GATHERING DATA FROM EXPERIMENTS 

When one speaks of gathering scientific data, perhaps 
most adult students think first of the process by means of 
laboratory experiments. For the most part, elementary 
children are too ignorant of technique and of research 
methods to plan many profitable experiments. Most of 
the so-called experiments for these grades are rather in the 
nature of demonstration lessons, whereby the teacher ex¬ 
plains a principle or illustrates a process already studied, 


52 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

or about to be studied, e. g., models of water wheels, or 
canal locks, or evaporation of water. 

In some cases, however, it can be arranged for a class to 
observe and draw conclusions for themselves. One Seventh 
Grade observed a series of experiments leading up to a dis¬ 
cussion of atmospheric pressure and its effect upon our lives. 

In the first lesson without any introduction, the class 
was shown a bottle full of water fitted with a one-holed 
stopper with a glass tube through it. They were asked 
whether any one could draw the water out of the bottle. 
Many pupils were sure that they could and the class 
chose one to try. Chagrined at his inability to suck any 
water up the tube, the child tried and tried until he looked 
as though he might burst. When the class was asked 
what could be done to get the water out of the bottle, 
someone said, “Well, I suppose he could try harder.” 
This did not seem possible! 

As they could not figure out what was the trouble and 
how they could get the water out, the teacher went on to 
another experiment. A small amount of water was boiled 
in a tin can, which was then quickly covered with a tight 
lid, and chilled by having cold water poured over it. The 
tin crumpled up like paper. One or two pupils looked as 
if they began to see the cause, but the teacher passed 
rapidly on. 

This time a tumbler full of water was taken, covered 
with paper and inverted. The paper remained in place 
and the water did not run out. This experiment was more 
familiar, having been tried at home by some children. 
There were a few whispers of atmospheric pressure and 
someone suggested that if the stopper in the first bottle 
were loosened the water could be drawn out. 

The more illustrations, the better the point sticks, so 


HELPING TO GET FOOD FOR THOUGHT 53 


another experiment was performed. Three bottles were 
used. The first was corked with a one-holed stopper 
and had a candle in the bottom. The second had a two- 
holed stopper and was empty. The third had no stopper 
and was filled with water. The bottles were connected 
with glass tubes. The candle in bottle one was lighted and 
the stopper replaced. The candle burned low and soon 
went out. Then the water from the third jar ran into the 
second. After considerable discussion as to whether the 
candle sucked the water in or the air on the surface of the 
water forced it in, the class decided that the candle went 
out only because it had used up most of the oxygen in 
bottles one and two. That left a partial vacuum in the 
bottles so the pressure of the air on the surface of the water 
pushed the water over into bottle two until the air pressure 
was balanced. 

These experiments show how children may be exposed 
to a large amount of data which they may later be helped 
to organize and from which generalizations may be drawn. 
When a textbook is employed, its effective use is similar 
to that of geography and history texts elsewhere enlarged 
upon. 18 

V. GATHERING DATA ON EXCURSIONS 

The publishers furnish us with pictures galore, the film 
companies bombard us with advertisements of educa¬ 
tional movies; but it is left to the teacher to plan her own 
excursions. Now an excursion may be a most valuable 
experience, adding greatly to the knowledge of the subject 
under consideration; or the children may fail to gain any- 

18 For children who wish to devote their free periods to scientific experi¬ 
ments and study, perhaps nothing is more convenient and comprehensive 
than Carleton W. Washburne’s Common Science, World Book Co., 1925. 


54 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

thing definite, and come back bored or blase, with an idea 
that they have learned a great deal, when in reality they 
have acquired only a blur of undigested impressions. As 
in the case of moving pictures, it depends largely upon how 
the children are prepared to meet the experience. The 
preparation varies with the type of excursion, but in gen¬ 
eral it is safe to say that before they go, they should have 
some very clear ideas concerning the objects or processes 
to be observed, or there is little chance of their gathering 
new data during the trip. It is always a most unfortunate 
circumstance if the teacher has not had a preliminary view 
of what the children are to see. 

It has seemed to us that most trips to museums and 
some to industrial plants are best handled by the “pupil- 
lecturer ” method. This involves a preliminary excursion 
when the teacher and the pupil-lecturers go over the ground 
together, the children observing and taking notes, each 
on the material for which he is to be responsible. During 
the days which intervene between this trip and the class 
excursion, the lecturers write up their notes. If there is 
suitable printed material available, they are encouraged to 
read it and incorporate whatever will enrich their lectures. 
So much for the preparation made by the lecturers, and it 
is usually very thorough. The children do real studying, 
collecting, and organizing data with the very definite aim of 
presenting it clearly to their classmates. But the audience 
also must be prepared. Sometimes the regular class exer¬ 
cises suffice. Again the teacher gives a preliminary talk a 
day or two before the excursion takes place, or each lecturer 
gives a classroom lecture, presenting as much of the mate¬ 
rial as can be made clear apart from the objects to be ob¬ 
served. 


HELPING TO GET FOOD FOR THOUGHT 55 


Sometimes it is not desirable or possible for children 
to conduct the excursion. 

If the purpose of the trip is to observe some compli¬ 
cated process as, for example, the work of the weather 
bureau, or the manufacture of steel, the explanations 
should be given by experts. Moreover, it would not be 
reasonable to expect these people to allow two visits for 
the benefit of one group of children. Such excursions come 
as the culmination of careful classroom study, so that the 
children have in mind definite points to be observed. 

If the trip involves considerable expense, it is not right 
to ask that any of the children pay this twice. A case in 
point is a boat trip around Manhattan Island costing 
seventy-five cents apiece for children. A series of questions 
discussed in the classroom starts the children off prepared 
to profit by what they see on such a trip. 

The questions used with one class are given below. In 
this case, the excursion came as a preparatory step in the 
study of the city, not as the culmination of a series of les¬ 
sons. The children were told that they were about to make 
a special study of their own city, New York: 

Teacher. What is the chief fact about New York City? 

Pupil. It is one of the very largest cities in the world. 

Teacher. How large? 

The children consulted their geographies to find the 
answer to this question. 

Teacher. Does the huge number suggest any questions to you? 

Questions followed in rapid succession. They were 
listed, but not answered at the time. Occasionally, the 
teacher added to a question—see questions 2 and 5. 


56 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

1. How many of the people are foreign and how many are Amer¬ 

ican? 

2. How do we get food, clothing, hardware, furniture, books, trains, 

autos, gas, and coal to the city? (The teacher added, “and 
water?”) 

3. How does New York dispose of ashes, garbage, rubbish, sewage? 

4. How does the city protect us from disease, whiskey, and drugs, 

thieves, fires, impure food, danger from traffic, from over¬ 
crowding? 

5. How are playgrounds provided? (The teacher added “and 

schools? ”) 

6. Why has New York grown to be such a large city? 

The children were then told that the answers to some of 
their questions would be found in their books, and the 
answers to others they would learn on an excursion, a boat 
trip around the city. After the route of the trip had been 
outlined, they were set to work to prepare themselves to 
profit by the experience. They were told to read in their 
geographies the section on New York City, and as they 
read to try to find the answer to question 6 above, “Why 
has New York grown to be such a large city?” listing all 
the reasons they discovered. They were directed to make 
a second list consisting of all the things they should be on 
the lookout for on the trip around the city. 

There is a lecturer on board the boat, so there is little 
opportunity for discussion during the trip, but there is 
much to talk over in the classroom afterward. 

It is apparent from the foregoing statements that even 
with elementary children it may take considerable time 
to get together sufficient data to justify forming a conclu¬ 
sion and some pupils will weary of the task. The “wise 
teacher” must devise means of encouraging them to perse¬ 
vere, and must guard against their jumping at conclusions. 
Eager impetuosity as well as lack of perseverance may lead 


HELPING TO GET FOOD FOR THOUGHT 57 

children to form judgments too hastily. Indeed, there is 
nothing harder than to induce people, young or old, to wait 
until all the evidence is in before coming to a conclusion on 
a given subject. 

A hastily formed opinion should be challenged. “Can 
you prove it?” “Has anyone come across anything which 
seems to contradict this statement?” “Have you read 
all the references?” Some such questions help to encour¬ 
age a more reflective attitude. 

The children are influenced in this respect by the teach¬ 
er’s method in development lessons. If she is in the habit 
of considering different points of view and weighing evi¬ 
dence, they will catch something of her spirit and may 
apply her methods when working independently. 


CHAPTER III 


HELPING THE CHILD TO ORGANIZE HIS 
FACTS 

To draw a line between gathering and organizing data is 
somewhat misleading. Whenever possible, facts should be 
pigeonholed as they come in. To accumulate a miscella¬ 
neous mass of material which must later be sorted is uneco¬ 
nomical and leads to confusion. The student is lost in a 
maze of details; as the saying is, “He cannot see the forest 
for the trees.” Therefore, throughout the grades and in all 
subjects much attention is paid to orderly methods of 
gathering data and recording the findings. 

With the little children the record is apt to be in the form 
of a collection of natural objects or of pictures. Again, the 
teacher may record facts on the blackboard, or the chil¬ 
dren may write brief statements or little compositions and 
bind them together. 

But, as has been indicated above, a mere record is not 
all that is necessary, there must be some definite method of 
recording, some grouping or arranging in order that the 
new concept toward which we are working shall at last 
emerge. “It is a natural process for ideas to become asso¬ 
ciated in groups, but in purposive thinking this process 
must be consciously aided.” 1 

This grouping may consist of arranging facts in a series 
because of resemblance, in two lists to emphasize con¬ 
trast, or in chronological order to bring out the idea of 

1 Earhart, Lida B., Teaching Children to Study , pp. 37-38. Houghton 
Mifflin Co., 1909. 


58 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS 


59 


the lapse of time. The relationship may be that of cause 
and effect. We can think of a product map as an organiza¬ 
tion of data. Such also would be a sketch of some charac¬ 
ter in history, naming on the one hand his good points, on 
the other his weaknesses. Topical outlines and notes 
have been referred to several times as methods of organiza¬ 
tion used during the process of gathering data. 

In whatever method we may employ we must be mindful 
that facts vary greatly in value, and that the consideration 
of relative values is of prime importance. Dr. McMurry, 
in his chapter on “The Organization of Ideas,” paints 
a dreary picture of the result when this inequality is dis¬ 
regarded : 

So long as facts are treated as approximately equal in worth the 
learner is bound to picture the field of knowledge as a comparatively 
level plain composed of a vast aggregation of independent bits. In 
spelling, writing, and beginning reading, it is so many hundreds or 
thousands of words; in beginning arithmetic it is the various com¬ 
binations in the four fundamental operations; in geography it is a 
long list of statements; in history it is an endless lot of facts as they 
happen to come on the page; in literature it is sentence after sentence. 

One can get possession of this field, not by taking the strategic 
positions,—for under the assumption of equality there are none,—• 
but rather by advancing over it slowly, mastering one bit at a time. 

This he calls “the method of study by driblets,” condemn¬ 
ing it especially because it fails to take into account that: 

1. Facts, as a rule, vary greatly in value. 

2. They are dependent upon one another for their worth. 

3. The sum of the details does not equal the whole—the larger 

thoughts, instead of being the sum of the details, are an out¬ 
growth from them, an interpretation of them; they are sep¬ 
arate, new ideas conceived through insight into the relations 
that the individual statements bear to one another. 2 

2 McMurry, Frank M., How to Study and Teaching How to Study , pp. 
87-92. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1909. 


60 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

The task of the elementary teacher then, is to train the 
child to analyze data, to pick out important points, group¬ 
ing under each the details which belong with it, to eliminate 
irrelevant material, and finally to arrange the whole accord¬ 
ing to some pattern that will bring out the essence of the 
matter. 

Let us consider some of the things which can be done to 
train children to evaluate facts and to see the relationships 
between them. 

GETTING THE IMPORTANT THOUGHT OF A 
PARAGRAPH 

The children in the Fifth Grade are given some exercises 
in analyzing paragraphs and stating their main points to 
overcome their tendency to attempt to memorize a mass of 
details. In making reports to their class, pupils sometimes 
copy the material from the reference book verbatim. 
When this is shown to be a useless procedure, the next re¬ 
port is often just as long, being merely the reproduction of 
the passage in the pupil’s own words. Since pupils do not 
know how to extract the main ideas; they need help in con¬ 
sciously attacking the difficulty. 

A first lesson is given here. It took about forty min¬ 
utes. The paragraphs were read by the teacher in order 
that no one should be hindered by slow reading habits: 

Mother Salmon is a fish, that lives most of her time in the salt 
sea, but she always lays her eggs in icy-cold fresh water, in a place 
far from the sea. In the summer time it is hard to find such a place 
out of doors, but Mother Salmon knows where to look. There is 
icy-cold fresh water in little lakes high up in the mountains, where 
streams flow down from melting snows and glaciers. Sometimes 
these lakes are a thousand miles from the sea, so it is a long, hard 
journey, a thousand miles up the river, to the little ice-cold lake in 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS 61 

the mountains. But that is where Mother Salmon has to go to raise 
her babies. 3 

Teacher: Who can give the real meaning of that paragraph? 
What were the main ideas told? 

Anyone familiar with the Binet test knows that there 
are three very common types of errors in response to the 
10-year reading test. Here the child is asked to tell all 
he can remember that he has read and a verbatim repro¬ 
duction would be perfect. But those not successful fail: 
first, by giving only a few phrases at the beginning; second, 
by repeating the last sentence; third, by embroidering 
the whole with statements not included in the original 
paragraph. 

Now when, as in the present instance, it is the essential 
idea which is called for, the errors follow the same gen¬ 
eral line with the additional error of complete reproduc¬ 
tion. Thus certain volunteers gave as the gist of the 
paragraph that, 

“Mother Salmon lives way up in the salt sea.” Or that, 

“The ice-cold lake in the mountains is where the mother salmon 
has to go to raise her babies.” 

A few proudly undertook to repeat the paragraph com¬ 
plete, while one boy, and a very bright boy at that, after 
an almost perfect reproduction continued: 

“Then she goes away and she knows when to come back. She 
comes back and the eggs are hatched and a lot of little salmon. She 
takes them with her to the sea and that’s how salmon are born.” 

Two or three really good sentences were given, the 
following being accepted as the best: 

3 These paragraphs were read from Human Geography , Book I, by 
J. Russell Smith, pp. 100-101, J. C. Winslow Co., 1925. 


62 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


“The salmon lives most of its life in the salt sea, but it goes to a 
cold mountain lake to lay its eggs.” 

The teacher read the next paragraph: 

In the summer a great number (school we say) of big, fat salmon 
swim from the Pacific Ocean up into every river on the coast, from 
San Francisco to the Arctic Ocean. In our river they swim around a 
certain island near its mouth, and two miles up it they cross over to 
the other side, as carefully as a man driving a wagon would follow 
that path. Upstream they go—on and on. They swim through 
rapids. They jump up waterfalls. Sometimes they fall back and 
are cut by rocks. Some are killed. White men catch them; Indians 
catch them; bears catch them; wild cats, hawks and eagles catch 
them. Those that live become thin, but still they swim on! At last, 
after many weeks, Father and Mother Salmon reach the ice-cold lake. 
There, after the eggs are laid and the little salmon hatch out, the old 
salmon die. None of the salmon that swim up to the cold lake ever 
go back to the ocean. 

The children thought out their sentences ready to 
write. Then it was agreed that it would be helpful to 
hear the paragraph read a second time to check the sen¬ 
tence each had in mind, to see if it really gave the mean¬ 
ing of the paragraph. Then they wrote. The sentences 
were read and discussed for errors and merits. Here 
are the best: 

“The salmon have a long and hazardous journey in which many die 
and none return when they swim up the river to raise their young.” 

“When the salmon go to lay their eggs, they pass through many 
hardships, but never come back to the sea.” 

“The salmon always swim up to the cold lakes to lay their eggs 
but they never return again.” 

Some omitted the important reason for the journey 
as in this one: 

“The mother and father salmon have a long dangerous journey 
to the cold little lake and they never come back.” 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS 


63 


Here is one that kept too much detail: 

“Mother and father Salmon have a hard time swimming up to the 
icy cold lake, because the way is hard and very dangerous, and lots 
of times animals or people catch them and after their little ones hatch, 
the other salmon die.” 

Then here is the worst one: 

“In the summer a great school of salmon go into all the lakes 
up the coast but none of the salmon that swim to the coast ever come 
back.” 

The teacher read the third paragraph and after the 
children had had time to think it over, reread it: 

It is the little salmon that go back to the sea. When they are 
hatched in the ice-cold water, they are no bigger than little pieces 
of match sticks. They have a rather hard time of it as they work 
their way down-stream. A great many of them are eaten by the hun¬ 
gry fish they meet. Many of them go off into irrigation ditches and 
perish on the dry ground of the fields. Those that reach the sea, 
months later, have grown to be as long as your finger. But in a few 
years they have become as long as your arm, and then they join the 
great school and swim back up the river as Mother Salmon did. 

Among the best summaries was this: 

“The baby salmon are the only ones that come down, but when 
they grow older they swim up and lay their eggs as Mother Salmon 
did.” 

The idea of the return journey to the mountain lake 
was missed in these: 

“The little salmon have a hard journey back to the sea and many 
perish on the way.” 

“It is the little salmon that go back to sea, that is if they are not 
eaten by some other big fish and don’t go down irrigation ditches.” 

In this child’s mind the details obscured the main ideas: 


64 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


“When the little salmon hatch they are no bigger than a match 
stick, very few of them ever reach the ocean.” 

On the whole, the summaries were shorter and more 
stripped of details. 

The next paragraph was read twice: 

It is easy to catch the salmon when they come in such bunches. 
The Indians in Alaska go out in their canoes and in a short time spear 
enough to fill a boat. They then dry the fish by smoking them over 
the campfire, and put them up in a cache, which is a little wooden 
house on piles, out of the reach of dogs and wolves. Here they are 
safe until winter, and the Indians may go off berry-picking and deer¬ 
hunting in the late summer and early autumn. The Indians of the 
interior must have dried salmon for themselves and their dogs. Very 
often there is nothing else for them to eat. 

This time every child had learned the lesson of brevity. 
The best summary was: 

“It is easy to catch the salmon when they are in big schools and 
the Indians smoke them for winter use.” 

In the following sentence the idea of winter use was 
overlooked: 

“The salmon are caught by the Indians and are smoked and eaten.” 

One sentence was even too meager. 

“The Indians use them for food.” 

Then the teacher with the help of the class composed a 
summary sentence which, though brief, told much. 

“The Indians spear salmon by canoefuls and smoke them for 
winter use.” 

They counted the words—only twelve. The next 
paragraph was treated as before: 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS 


65 


White men have learned how to keep salmon fresh in cans. Canned 
salmon is much better than is the Indians’ smoked salmon, which is 
said to taste like an old shoe. (Laughter—“Will you mention that 
in your summary?” Chorus of “No.”) There are large fish canning 
factories on the Columbia River, on smaller rivers in Oregon and 
Washington, and on the Yukon and other rivers of Alaska and British 
Columbia. In summer the factories are busy, but they are closed 
the rest of the year, and often only watchmen remain in winter. On 
the Bering Sea shore of Alaska it is too cold for farms, and in British 
Columbia and south Alaska there is not room enough for farms. At 
Juneau and at the mouth of the river Skeene, the shore is so moun¬ 
tainous that there is barely enough level land for buildings to be 
built. This is no place for many people to live. Therefore, at salmon 
time, a ship loaded with workers and tin cans sails up to the cannery. 
For a few weeks after the boat arrives at the cannery, the people are 
very busy at work preparing the fish and packing them into a ship¬ 
load of fine canned salmon. It is one of the chief products of Alaska, 
British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, and is sold in most gro¬ 
cery stores in the United States and England. 

The children this time counted their words and again 
brevity prevailed, one summary bringing out the re¬ 
mark: 

“That is short but all the important facts are not there.” 

The best ones follow: 

“The white men along the Pacific coast can the salmon and export 
them.” 

“Men have learned how to can salmon and there are many canning 
factories in Alaska and Northwestern United States.” 

“The white men can the salmon at big canneries on the Pacific 
Ocean in the season.” 

Among the poorest was this in which an unimportant 
point was stressed and the important point of location 
left out: 

“Many white men can salmon it is better than the Indians’ smoked 
salmon.” 


66 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


There was only one wordy summary. This kind of 
lesson needs to be repeated at intervals through the year, 
but for the present the majority in the class had some 
idea of how to analyze a paragraph, and so could make 
their reports briefer. 

Another plan found helpful is that of selecting para¬ 
graph or topic headings. Sometimes this is done with 
the book open, sometimes pupils listen to the reading. 
They are good judges, too, as to which headings are best, 
and they have been known to improve upon the text¬ 
book headings. 

A third method combines the other two. The para¬ 
graph is read and in answer to the question, “What is 
this about?” each pupil writes the topic. Then in answer 
to the question, “What did the paragraph tell about 
this topic?” he makes a summary. 

Paragraph. Long, long ages ago, where the country of the Nether¬ 
lands now is, the great ocean lay. The Rhine, the Scheldt, the Meuse, 
and the smaller rivers of the region scoured the land over which they 
flowed and carried to the sea their loads of silt, much of which came 
from the lofty mountains to the south. This soil was deposited in 
the shallow water at their mouths, and the winds and the waves 
washed it back and forth and gradually piled it up in hills, or ‘dunes/ 
not very far from where the shore of the continent is to-day. Be¬ 
tween these dunes and the mainland the water still lay. For ages 
the rivers worked on, depositing their loads in the inland basin be¬ 
hind the dunes until, in time, the accumulations grew so deep that 
the land began to appear above the surface of the water, gradually 
extending the shoreline seaward and leaving large lakes in the deepest 
parts of the basin. 4 

1. “What is the paragraph about?” 

“How Holland was made.” 

4 Allen, Nellie B., The New Europe , p. 232. Ginn and Co., 1920. 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS 


67 


2. “What does the paragraph tell about it?” 

“Rivers brought soil from the mountains and deposited it in the 
ocean at their mouths and so made land.” 

When the topic of the paragraph has been recognized 
the first step has been taken toward a definite summary. 
Not all paragraphs have been composed carefully enough 
to lend themselves to summarizing, so the teacher needs 
to select the paragraphs before conducting such a lesson. 

NOTE-TAKING AND OUTLINING 

It was stated on page 60 that the task of the elementary 
teacher is “to train the child to analyze data, to pick out 
important points, grouping under each the details which 
belong with it, to eliminate irrelevant material, and finally 
to arrange the whole according to some pattern that 
will bring out the essence of the matter.” 

Through exercises in analyzing paragraphs, writing topic 
headings, etc., our Fifth Grade children become fairly skill¬ 
ful in picking out important points, and are expected to 
make use of this power when preparing to make special 
reports or to act as lecturers on excursions. But these 
“notes” consist of lists of facts, stated briefly, each fact 
beginning on a new line, like the sentences in a primer. It 
is unwise to attempt much in the way of grouping. This 
step is taken in the Sixth Grade. 

Considerable space will be given to an account of this 
work in note-taking as there is a tendency to assume 
that children come naturally by the ability to take notes, 
which theory is abundantly disproved by high school 
and college notebooks. 

One effective way of beginning a series of lessons on 
note-taking is for the teacher, in presenting a new topic, 


68 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


to make conspicuous use of notes, referring to her paper 
as she talks. Let it be material containing dates, figures, 
etc., which it would be foolish to memorize, but which 
are of temporary use in making clear the points to be 
brought out. The next day she may say: 

“You must have noticed, yesterday, that I constantly referred to 

a paper when I was telling you about--. That was a 

page of notes, and I found it very useful. I am going to show you 
how it looks.” 

The children will notice that it does not look like a page 
in a story book; that some lines begin near the margin, and 
others, grouped under those, begin further from the mar¬ 
gin; and the teacher points out that that is the first requisite 
of good notes— grouping , important ideas so placed that 
they stand out very clearly, the details which go to make 
up these ideas arranged under them. 

The advantage of grouping the points may be made 
very clear by placing on the board a diagrammatic rep¬ 
resentation of notes such as the teacher used, each dash 
standing for a word, and a diagram of words arranged 
in a solid block. 

















HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS 


69 


They readily see that in the first diagram three im¬ 
portant ideas are indicated: 

“ These we will call main heads or main headings; you will find both 
terms used. Under the first main head I have shown two subheads. 
Under the second how many? Under the third, how many? ” 

The children realize that such an arrangement is a 
framework that helps to give a clear idea of the topic, 
and that they are likely to remember material so organ¬ 
ized. They realize also that the undifferentiated mass 
of words represented by the second diagram makes no 
contribution to clear thinking, and does not constitute 
a helpful visual image, readily recalled, as does the first 
arrangement. 

When these diagrams have been discussed, the teacher 
will continue: 

“ As you go on through school you will need often to know how to 
take notes. High school and college students could scarcely get on 
at all unless they were able to do so. Even this year in the Sixth 
Grade the ability to take notes will help you very much in your 
studying. 

“ Suppose we try right now to make a set of notes. Martin has 
been absent while we have been studying about Magellan. We have 
used several books. 6 It would be hard for him to make up this work. 
Let us write out the story and send it to him. Notes will help us to 
tell things in the right order and prevent our omitting important 
points. The story will be a long one. We had better divide it into 
chapters. The titles of these chapters will be our main headings. 
Write down the titles you think suitable.” 

When several lists of titles have been read, those selected 
by the majority are placed on the board, leaving under 

6 Tappan, Eva March, American Hero Stories. Houghton Mifflin Co. 

Nida, William L., The Dawn of American History in Europe. The 
Macmillan Co. 

McMurry, Charles A., Pioneers on Land and Sea. The Macmillan Co. 


70 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

each a space to be used for the subheads. Those chosen 
by one class are given below: 

Childhood and Youth. 

A Trip to the East Indies. 

Magellan Planned to Circumnavigate the Globe. 

Preparations for the Voyage. 


The Voyage around the World. 


The first two points as elaborated with subheadings by 
one group are shown below: 

Childhood and Youth. 

Magellan was born in the mountains of Portugal in 1480. 

He was of a noble family. 

He was brought up in the royal household. 

He saw exploring expeditions sail from Lisbon. 

Trip to the East Indies. 

He went with the Portuguese governor of India. 

He spent seven years as a sailor and soldier. 

He was in several fierce battles. 

In 1509 he saved Captain Serrano from the natives who plotted 
to kill him. 

Magellan and Serrano became friends. 

Serrano went to the Moluccas in 1514. 

Magellan started home in 1514. 

After the whole story has been worked out in note 
form, and the compositions written, the children are 
helped to make a better set of notes. They are told that 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS 


71 


the notes can be made more serviceable if shortened; 
that complete sentences are not necessary, and that it is 
well to abbreviate a good many words. The first two 
points revised after this manner are given below. 

Ferdinand Magellan 

Childhood & Youth 

Born in mts. of Portugal, 1480 
Family noble 

Brought up in royal household 

Saw exploring expeditions sail fr Lisbon 

Trip to East Indies 

Went with P gov of India 
7 yrs. sailor & soldier 
In fierce battles 

1509 saved Capt Serrano fr plot of natives 
M & S became friends 
S went to the Moluccas, 1514 
M started home, 1514 

Some children are shocked when they are told that 
they need not put periods at the end of statements or after 
abbreviations when taking notes. “Don’t you do it?” 

“ No, not unless the omission of the period will be confusing. Most 
people do not. It would be foolish for me to attempt to teach you 
to do the thing so perfectly that you cannot possibly use it in in¬ 
dependent study. Notes are not compositions. They are a system 
of shorthand, hooks on which your mind can hang units of thought. 
The important thing is for you to learn to pick out rapidly the mam 
points, and arrange the details under them so that at a glance you 
can see the relation of the ideas. A mass of words is of no use. Sub¬ 
ordination 6 of ideas indicated by grouping; proper sequence 6 brevity, 
those are the important things. Punctuation is not important.” 

A set of notes should be copied by the children with 
great care in order that each may have a model to keep 
in his history notebook. 

6 These words must be explained to Sixth Grade children. 


72 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Before they begin to copy, the following points are 
called to their attention: 

1. Use a suitable tide, not History, or History Home Work; a 

title which will make perfectly clear the subject you are 
considering. 

2. Under the title place the name of the book used and the pages 

referred to. 

3. Keep your main headings all the same distance from the margin; 

this will show that you consider them coordinate or of 
equal value. 

4. Begin the subheadings a half inch further from the margin; this 

shows that you consider them subordinate to the main 
headings under which you place them. 

5. If a line of your writing is too long to be finished on a line of the 

paper, the left-over words are to be begun an inch farther 
from the margin than the line to which they belong, in 
order that they may be clearly recognized as “tag ends,” 
or “leftovers.” 

This set of rules may be posted, and the children referred 
to them as may be necessary. 

Until the children have gained considerable facility 
in note-taking, it is well to require them to draw guide¬ 
lines, in order to insure proper spacing. 7 As individuals 
show a thorough comprehension of the principle of group¬ 
ing, they may be encouraged to try to get on without 
the lines. Spacing which is reasonably correct should 
always be accepted. The aim is not papers perfectly 
executed but the ability to indicate subordination by 
spacing, as an aid to clear thinking. 

There comes a day when it is decided to take a step 
in advance. After a topic has been developed by the 
teacher, the children are asked to suggest the main head- 

7 It seems best to use only three lines. Indentations which fall to the 
right of the last line may be estimated. 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS 73 

ings for a set of notes. These are written on the black¬ 
board. Then each is considered separately, the subhead¬ 
ings being decided upon. These are not written on the 
board but are indicated diagrammatically. We now 
have a set of “ skeleton notes,” and the children are de¬ 
lighted to try to “cover the dry bones.” 

During the discussion the teacher records on paper 
the subheadings chosen. While the children are at work, 
filling in the subheadings, she makes a model set, using all 
the details decided upon. When the children have finished, 
this model is posted for purposes of comparison. Happy is 
the child whose paper most closely approaches the model. 

The first point of such a model is reproduced below, and 
also the same point as represented diagrammatically on 
the board. 

“Earliest Attempts to Settle Virginia.” 

T. & K., 8 pp. 51-53. 

Reasons for English wishing to settle in the New World 
Wanted a share in the wealth 
Unemployed sought homes 

Farms turned into sheep pastures—farmers out of work 

Soldiers returned fr wars 
People not allowed to worship as they wished 

Earliest Attempts to Settle Virginia 
Reasons for English wishing to settle in the New World 


8 Titles of books are abbreviated. A list of abbreviations of the titles of 
books most commonly used is posted. T. & K. stands for A History of the 
United States. Thwaites and Kendall. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1924. 




74 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Perhaps the children are ready now for greater in¬ 
dependence. A topic may be read silently, each child 
being expected when he has finished to be able to suggest 
suitable main headings for a set of notes. When the class 
has agreed on the best main headings, the children copy 
them and each pupil proceeds to hunt out and write in 
properly subheadings for each main heading. 

Next in order, of course, are exercises executed by the 
pupils independently from beginning to end. 

When children are fairly proficient in taking notes 
from a book, they may begin to write as the teacher talks 
or reads aloud to them. It is necessary for the teacher 
to talk slowly and with many pauses. At first only main 
headings should be required. Even so there are sure to be 
some children who are “ flustered ” and can get nothing 
down, especially the visually-minded ones. It is better 
to let them simply listen and try to take mental notes 
for a time or two. These same children will probably 
fail completely when fuller notes are attempted for the 
first time. 

Children are apt to think that when they have taken 
notes on a topic, they know all about it, and in their in¬ 
dependent study, especially at home, will neglect other 
necessary steps. They must be reminded frequently 
that the mere act of taking notes does not of itself insure 
mastery of the subject matter, that repetition of the 
ideas so organized is almost sure to be necessary, that 
the test of assimilation is the ability to expand the notes 
they have taken. In the classroom there should be fre¬ 
quent practice in expanding notes both orally and in 
writing in order to establish the habit, and to keep in 
mind the uses of the tool they are acquiring. Children 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS 


75 


are pleased when a new use is discovered. The first time 
that answers in note-form are called for in a written test, 
there are signs of satisfaction. Such a test on a chapter 
in history was introduced by the teacher as follows: 

“ You have studied the chapter on “ Life in the Colonies/’ let us find 
out now how much each has gained from it. I shall put on the board 
some of the main headings from the chapter. Copy each and fill in 
the subheadings.” 

It is not possible to say how many exercises of each 
of the types suggested will be needed. The number will 
vary with the groups, but the work should never be hur¬ 
ried. New points must be introduced gradually. 

Not until the class as a whole shows considerable skill 
in taking notes, indicating relationships by proper spacing, 
is it safe to introduce the use of “labels,” symbols used 
in more elaborate notes or outlines—I, A, etc. Some chil¬ 
dren will attempt their use as soon as they are left alone 
to make their own notes. Of course they have often seen 
outlines and they feel that the symbols “make a paper 
look so nice.” Some realize that the symbols can be so 
used as to make the meaning clearer than spacing alone 
does, and it is hard for them to accept the teacher’s state¬ 
ment that they are not able to use them. Experience 
has proved that too early use of such symbols leads to 
confusion of thought. It is much easier to remember the 
required spacing than to remember just which symbol 
should be used to indicate a certain degree of relationship. 
Very careful supervision is needed all along the line but 
especially at this point in order that the children shall 
not use a form without a real comprehension of its meaning. 

It has seemed desirable with some groups to introduce 
symbols one at a time. When the children have formed 


76 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

the habit of using Roman numerals to designate main 
headings, it is safe to introduce the capital letters as 
“labels” for subheadings of the first order, etc. 

The first complete outlines should be very simple and 
made in class, the teacher and pupils working together. 

To emphasize the need of close supervision of this 
early work, let us consider some papers from a set worked 
out independently by one Sixth Grade group after having 
read and discussed the topic, “ French and English Ex¬ 
plorers; Conflict Between England and Spain/' pages 
27-30 in Beard & Bagley’s History. 

There had been some classroom work in outlining, but 
evidently not enough. The outline which was made 
together afterward in class is given first, then five speci¬ 
mens of children's work illustrating a variety of mistakes 
which are likely to occur and which should not be allowed 
to become habitual. 


Blackboard Outline 

French and English Explorations; Conflict Between Eng¬ 
land and Spain. 

B. & B., pp. 27-30 

I. French Exploration 

A. Eastern Coast of N. A.—Verrazano 

B. St. Lawrence R.—Cartier 

C. Port Royal in Arcadia—1604 

D. Quebec—1608—Champlain 

E. Great Lakes—several explorers—in search of Chinese 

cities 

II. English Explorations 

A. Labrador—Cabot—1497, 1498 

B. Queen Elizabeth’s sea-captains 

1. Drake 

2. Raleigh 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS 


77 


3. Frobisher 

4. Gilbert 

C. Voyage around the world—Drake, 1577-1580 
III. Conflict between England and Spain 

A. Drake plundered S. ships 

B. Spain sent Armada to Eng. 

C. Armada defeated 1588 

Children’s Work 

First Paper 

I. French Explorations 

A. South eastern N.A.—Verrazano 

B. St. Lawrence River.—Cartier 

C. Quebec—Champlain 

II. English Explorations 

A. Labrador—Cabot—1497 

B. Plymouth—Drake—1577 

C. San Francisco—Drake 
(Unfinished) 

Second Paper 

I. The French and the English Explorations. 

A Verrazano explored the E. coast of N. America in 1524. 
BCartier took possession of St. Lawrence 
River for France. 

CChamplain est. Quebec in 1608. 

DCabot discovered Labrador in 1497. 

EDrake sailed along S.A. 

II. Conflict between England and Spain 
ADrake plundered Spanish 
ships 

B Spanish Armada defeated by 
the English. 

Third Paper 

1. French explorations. 

A. Verrazano. Eastern North America. 

1. Verrazano an Italian. 

B. Cartier and Champlain, St. Lournce 

river and Quebec 


78 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

2. English Explorations. 

A Cabot, 1497 Labrador in 1497. 

B.Drake under Queen Elizabeth. 

3. The Spanish Armada 

The “ “ destroyed. 

Fourth Paper 

I French Explorations. 

A. Verrazano discovered North 
America in 1524 

B. Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence 
River in 1604 

II English Explorations 

A. In 1497 Cabot discovered North 
America and planted the English flag 
there. 

B. In 1580 Drake returned from 
sailing around the world. He started in 
the year 1577 

III The Conflict between England and Spain 

A. Because of the insults that 
England was giving Spain the King of Spain 
excepted a challenge. It was to be a sea fight. 

B. The Spanish lost and their ships 
were tore to pieces 

Fieth Paper 

I The French Explorations 

a. Verrazano 

b. Cartier and Champlain 

II English Explorations 

a. John Cabot 

b. Francis Drake 

III Conflict between England 
and Spain 

a. The defeat of the 
Spanish Armada. 

In the first specimen the framework of the outline stands 
out clearly; headings of coordinate value are the same dis- 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS 


79 


tance from the left-hand margin, the subheadings are in¬ 
dented the required half inch beyond the main headings. 
But points are omitted and the assignment was unfinished. 

In the second paper, the framework is not as evident be¬ 
cause the first words of the subheadings follow too closely 
the letter symbols, and because where subheadings are too 
long to be written on one line the extra words, “tag ends/’ 
as we call them, are not sufficiently indented. This speci¬ 
men shows complete comprehension of the subject. All 
that was needed was to point out to the child the greater 
clearness of the arrangement prescribed. 

The third specimen illustrates a very common error; 
namely, the use of a single subheading. It is frequently 
necessary to point out to children that if they can find only 
one subheading, it means that there is only one thing to say 
and this should be said in the main heading. 

This child departed from the accepted evaluation of 
symbolsI, A, 1, a—being the order in which they are 
commonly used. 

The use of ditto marks is unwise. If children once begin 
to use them, they will sprinkle them in so lavishly that it 
becomes difficult to follow the meaning. 

The framework of the fourth paper is obscured by the 
misplaced “tag ends.” Moreover it is “too wordy.” 

The fifth paper speaks for itself as having been done too 
hastily. Also there is faulty ranking of symbols, and in one 
case a single subheading. This might have been avoided 
by combining III and a as follows: 

III. Conflict between England and Spain, 
resulting in the defeat of the 
Spanish Armada. 

When the children are first working with complete out¬ 
lines, and some of them are floundering and a bit discour- 


80 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


aged, it is worth while to introduce a bit of nonsense to re¬ 
lieve the tension. The ridiculous letter in outline form from 
Daddy Long Legs 9 is sometimes used: 

Mr Daddy-Long-Legs-Smith. 

Sir: Having completed the study of argumentation and the science 
of dividing a thesis into heads, I have decided to adopt the following 
form for letter writing. It contains all necessary facts, but no un¬ 
necessary verbiage. 

I. We had written examinations this week in: 

A. Chemistry 

B. History 

II. A new dormitory is being built 

A. Its material is: 

1. Red brick. 

2. Gray stone. 

B. Its capacity will be: 

1. One dean, five instructors 

2. Two hundred girls 

3. One housekeeper, three cooks, twenty waitresses, 

twenty chambermaids. 

III. We had junket for dessert to-night. 

IV. I am writing a special topic upon the Sources of Shakespeare’s 

Plays. 

V. Lou McMahon slipped and fell this afternoon at basketball, 
and she: 

A. Dislocated her shoulder. 

B. Bruised her knee. 

VI. I have a new hat trimmed with: 

A. Blue velvet ribbon. 

B. Two blue quills. 

C. Three red pompons. 

VII. It is half-past nine. 

VIII. Good night. 9 10 

Judy 

9 Webster, Jean, Daddy Long Legs , p. 157. Century Co., 1902. 

10 In the copy of the letter placed on the board, reproduced here, symbols 
and spacing have been changed to be consistent with the form used in the class. 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS 


81 


As the work progresses, if a child places a detail under a 
heading to which it is in no way related, he may be told 
that it is as bad as if Judy had made “Blue velvet ribbon” 
a subheading under, “We had junket for dessert tonight.” 
He will see the point. 

The ability to take notes mentally, to make an outline of 
a topic as one reads, without setting down anything on 
paper, and then “carry it around in one’s head”—the pos¬ 
session of such power is a goal worth working toward. As a 
means of training themselves to reach this goal, some 
children form the habit of making “skeleton” outlines as 
they study, the main headings written out, all the other 
points indicated by symbols, for example: 

I The condition of the South after the Civil War 

A. 

1 

2 

B. 

1 

2 

3 

C. 

Some children do not use words even for the main 
headings. 

Such outlines are required occasionally. It is interesting 
to allow the children to test their mastery of the topic by 
writing the outline from memory and then expanding it 
into a full outline in writing. A child may then be chosen 
to give a full recitation from these notes. 

A more difficult feat of organization than any already 
described is the fusing and outlining of material gathered 
from several sources. One illustration is given of the way 


82 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


this has been done with the Seventh Grade. After the 
class had spent several weeks in studying the “ Westward 
Expansion of the United States/ 5 using a number of books 
and magazine articles, an outline was made under the 
supervision of the history teacher. This was copied by the 
children to be used as a guide in writing summaries of the 
information gathered during the study of the Unit. They 
knew that they would not be expected to follow the out¬ 
line slavishly. “ Uniformity in organization is neither 
necessary nor desirable. Individual pupils will see the 
argument in somewhat different lines, and this individual¬ 
ity is to be encouraged rather than suppressed. 5511 

As the children finished copying, the English teacher 
joined the group. This was their first attempt at summar¬ 
izing a considerable amount of material gathered from 
different sources, and it was felt that they needed a good 
deal of help in order that they might produce papers which 
would be more than mere statements of facts, entirely 
without literary merit, uninteresting even to the writers 
themselves. The English teacher made suggestions con¬ 
cerning the introduction, and the transitions from point 
to point which would keep the papers from being scrappy 
and disjointed. Two forty-minute lesson periods, with a 
five-minute break between them, were required for this 
preparatory work. Some of the children spent six or seven 
hours in making their rough drafts of the summaries. These 
were submitted to the history and English teachers for 
suggestions before they were copied. 

Such closely supervised work is, of course, a means of 
preparation for the free, individual work which children 
may be expected to do later on. 

11 Morrison, Henry C., The Practice of Teaching in the Secondary School t 
p. 305. University of Chicago Press, 1926. 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS 


83 


This class work in summarizing is of especial value to 
children who undertake longer projects of this kind, which, 
for lack of a better term, we have called “ Juvenile Theses.” 
An account of the development of such “ theses” will be 
found in the following chapter. 

It will usually be found that certain children in each class 
will not profit by work as analytical as the note-taking and 
outlining described here. 

It requires a high degree of analytical ability to be able 
to pick out the “ large thoughts” coordinate in value, and 
the “ supporting details” for each thought—the subordinate 
points: 

The field of thought, instead of being pictured as a plain, is to be 
conceived as a very irregular surface, with elevations of various 
heights scattered over it. And just as hills and mountains rest upon 
and are approached by the lower land about them, so the larger 
thoughts are supported and approached by the details that relate 
to them. 12 

Now if a child, because of immaturity or because of his 
type of mind, cannot recognize the foothills as related to the 
mountains, he should not be attempting work of this kind. 

There are various reasons for such failures. A child with 
a good memory, one who learns readily the three R’s where 
facts are on the whole fairly equal in value and little analy¬ 
sis is required, may sail smoothly through primary grades, 
and also through much of the process work of the upper 
grades, and fail lamentably in these outline lessons. We 
often have reason to feel that studies of this kind in history 
and geography afford the first practical diagnosis of the 
child who has not the innate ability to go far, or for the 
brilliant, but immature child who lacks the power of general- 

12 McMurry, Frank M., How to Study and Teaching How to Study , p. 92. 
Houghton Mifflin Co., 1909. 


84 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


ization which only time can bring. The following extracts 
from independent study papers illustrate this point. 

The first extract is one point from an outline on “The 
Expansion of the United States.” 13 

II. U. S. buys Louisiana for $15,000,000 

A. Lewis & Clark Expedition 

B. Pike’s Expedition 

C. Have to go all around terr. of Florida to get to mouth 
of Miss, desire to buy Fla. 

This was the work of a ten-year-old, 150 I. Q. boy, 
crammed by his over-ambitious parents into the Seventh 
Grade. He was able to do such work when he had had time 
to develop. 

The second is from an outline on “Life, Labor, and Lib¬ 
erty in America on the Eve of the Revolution: ” 14 

I. Population 

A. abt 3,000,000 

B. 1/3 pop. of Eng 

1. settled near Atlantic O 

2. Few frontiers further inland 

n. - --(?) 

A. Albany 

B. Schenectady 

1. Kentucky by Daniel Boone. 

2. Albany 

3. Schenectady 

4. Appalachian Mts. 

5. Pittsburgh 

This boy’s 1 and 2 under I. B should have been I. C & D. 
All the places mentioned are illustrations of settlements 

13 Beard & Bagley, The History of the American People, pp. 195-209. 
The Macmillan Co., 1919. 

14 Ibid., pp. 98-107, 1919 edition. The Macmillan Co., 1919. 



HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS 85 

more than fifty miles from the Atlantic and should have 
been placed under I. D. 

The writer of this paper is an over-age, extremely faith¬ 
ful boy, I. Q. 95. He is unusually efficient in practical 
situations, but regularly misses the point of abstract think¬ 
ing, and will in all probability never be able to handle this 
type of work. 

Nothing is gained by attempting to force children lack¬ 
ing this analytical ability to use an instrument which in 
their hands cannot function. As soon as it is discovered 
that they are beyond their depth in such lessons as the pre¬ 
ceding they should be provided with another type of work 
by means of which they can master the minimum essential 
facts of the subject matter. 


CHAPTER IV 


HELPING THE CHILD TO ORGANIZE HIS 
FACTS (Continued) 

“ JUVENILE THESIS ” 

In calling the attention of teachers to this work, we lay 
claim to nothing unique. For a number of years, the 
country over, children have chosen topics and written them 
up at length. 

However, as we have watched the development of these 
“juvenile theses ” in our own classes and elsewhere we have 
felt that there was less gain than there should be in knowl¬ 
edge of methods of organization of scattered material. 
Such methods of organization do not germinate sponta¬ 
neously out of interest, enthusiasm, and persevering appli¬ 
cation. They constitute the equipment of a student, and 
their acquisition, by those who are so fortunate as to ac¬ 
quire them, is usually the result of years of fumbling ex¬ 
perience, with no credit to the teachers who left the child 
to flounder himself into economical procedure. We feel 
that some of this procedure should be regarded as material 
for direct teaching, in order that the child may become con¬ 
sciously possessed of organization methods and be brought 
to consciously evaluate their usefulness. To this end we 
present anpaccount of the Seventh Grade “theses”'— 
“special topics,” the children call them. 

For several years during the second semester of the 
Seventh Year many of the children have undertaken a 
piece of work which tests very thoroughly their ability to 
86 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS (Continued) 87 

gather and organize data, and is at the same time, to a 
certain extent, creative. The project is started in the his¬ 
tory class, but as the work progresses it requires the help 
of the English and art teachers, sometimes of others. 

The children are familiar with the two methods of study¬ 
ing history—the chronological and the topical; their 
text is a happy combination of the two. They are told 
that they are to be given an opportunity to carry on some 
independent work which will be of especial interest to them, 
that each one is to choose a topic and work it up in con¬ 
siderable detail. It is made plain that the booklet which 
will be the result of this work, should show the develop¬ 
ment, the evolution of the matter in hand. 

As the children name possible topics, they are written 
on the blackboard. It is suggested that they search for 
still others before the next day, and usually they bring in a 
number found by looking through other histories, the 
Book of Knowledge , etc., or through discussion with their 
parents, older brothers and sisters, or friends. These are 
added to the list. Certain subjects are apt to come up for 
consideration each year; the first nine in the list given below 
have been on every list, and usually most of these are 
chosen. But some children are ambitious to find topics 
which have “never been done before.” The 1924-1925 
list contains an unusual number of such topics, see 10-15 
below. 

Topics Suggested, 1924-1925 

1. Transportation 

2. Communication 

3. Inventions 

4. Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States 

5. Government in the United States 

6. Expansion of the United States 

7. Slavery 


88 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

8. The History of New York City 

9. Immigration 

10. Lighting 

11. Farm Machinery 

12. Prison Reform 

13. Development of Medical Science 

14. Welfare Work 

15. Housing in New York City 

The list is left on the board for several days, and then the 
children are asked to write down two or three topics which 
appeal to them, in the order of their preference. It is some¬ 
times desirable to persuade a child to give up a chosen 
topic. The teacher may know that the topic is too diffi¬ 
cult for that child to handle, or that there is very little 
material available, or that for some other reason the topic 
is unsuitable. “Prison Reform ” and “The Development 
of Medical Science ” were added to the list by two children 
who were particularly anxious to be original. It was hard 
to persuade them to give them up, but their mothers agreed 
that it was not desirable to have their children delving into 
crime and disease for several months, and helped in finding 
other original subjects, “Welfare Work” and “Housing in 
New York City.” After each child has chosen his “special 
topic,” he lives on very intimate terms with it for the rest 
of the semester. 

It is explained at the outset that what is intended is not a 
reproduction of any one book, but a compilation of material 
gathered from several sources. 

Before the children begin a search for material, each 
child hands in an outline of his paper as he thinks he will 
develop it. These outlines or tables of contents are usually 
amended several times before the plans are definitely 
settled. The tentative plans serve as guides while the 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS (Continued) 89 

children are first exploring in libraries. The children under¬ 
stand that these plans are tentative, as is shown by the 
note at the bottom of the following plan: 

Immigration 

I. Colonial Period. 1640-1780 

Tell facts about Immigration in this period. 

II. Period between 1780-1840 

Facts about it. 

III. 1841—present time. 

The reason I am able to tell so little is because I am reading a good 
book at present which may change my whole plan or make me insert 
many things. 

For a week or ten days the children are supposed to search 
for material and to dip into a number of books if possible. 
On a specified day they are expected to be ready to begin to 
take notes. By this time, usually a number of them wish 
to make some changes in their tables of contents. New 
phases of their subjects have become apparent to them as 
they have browsed through books and magazine articles. 
When such changes have been made the note-taking begins. 

By the second half of the Seventh Year most of the 
children are fairly proficient in the matter of note-taking. 
The point which needs to be emphasized at the beginning 
of this undertaking is that the notes for the different chap¬ 
ters should be kept separate. The revised tables of con¬ 
tents serve as guides for subdividing their notebooks. It 
is not difficult to make them understand the advantages 
of such an arrangement, but it is not always easy to see that 
they keep to it as the work progresses. Once having started 
to take notes from a given volume, it is easy for the child to 
go on and on without noticing that the author’s arrange¬ 
ment is not the same as that decided upon for his own topic. 
With some children it is necessary to point out again and 


90 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


again the confusion resulting from thus following the path 
of least resistance. Indeed the task is a fairly difficult one 
for any Seventh Grade child. He must select, eliminate, 
rearrange. It is decidedly easier to take notes step by step 
as an author develops his subject. The value of the definite 
plan becomes particularly apparent when a child cannot 
find, at the moment, the material he needs to finish the 
chapter on which he is working, and has at hand good 
material for a later chapter. He is told to use that material 
and go back later to the unfinished chapter. He comes to 
recognize that he can avoid confusion so long as he keeps 
his own plan very definitely in mind. 

The children are provided with folders to be kept, when 
not in use, in a filing case accessible to all. In these folders 
are to be placed the notes, taken on loose pages of uniform 
size, those for each chapter kept separate and securely 
clipped together. Each page should be headed with the 
name of the chapter, and numbered, the numbers starting 
with one and running consecutively for each chapter. In¬ 
serts can be made as new material is found,—1 a, etc. The 
name of the book, and the author should appear above 
notes taken from that book, and page numbers should be 
sufficiently numerous to insure ease in referring to passages 
later on. A well-arranged page of notes for a paper on 
“ Communication” is reproduced here. 

Carrier Pigeons 

Boy With the U. S. Mail, Francis Roth Wheeler 1 
Used by ancient Greeks to send home news of Olympic games, 
p. 91. 

Used at Siege of Paris 1870, p. 92 
Prussians surrounded city 
All railroads blocked 

1 Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1916. 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS (Continued) 91 

Roads guarded 
Rivers dammed 
No food could get in 
Reread, pp. 95-99 
Quote, p. 151 

New International Encyclopedia , Volume 16, page 12 
Used in time of first Crusade 
Saracens used regularly for imp. Com. 

Christian commanders used falcons to intercept 

Encyclopedia Britannica 

Chinese provided pigeons with whistles 
Falcons trained to intercept 
Scared—did not always work 

Until the children show a fair working knowledge of the 
way to amass from several sources information on a given 
topic, the history teacher supervises the note-taking rather 
carefully. There are many pitfalls. A child may lose 
sight of the plan of the whole in his interest in some one 
phase; he may wander off into bypaths which lead away 
from the main idea; he may record unrelated facts in an 
indistinguishable jumble. One child fails to put topic 
headings at the tops of the pages; another numbers his 
pages consecutively without regard to topics; another does 
not number them at all, misplaces some and cannot re¬ 
place them; others neglect to record the names of books 
consulted, or the pages referred to. One boy who intended 
to quote extensively from a certain book copied the matter 
verbatim in his notes, twenty-nine compactly written 
pages, instead of giving the page numbers and writing 
simply “ Quote.” This same boy would at first make 
elaborate notes on^ages which he needed simply to reread 
for general atmosphere. 

When it is apparent that a child is spending too much 


92 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


time in searching for some needed information, he is told 
to hand in a statement of the things he needs to know and 
the teacher will aid in the search. 

The folders should contain, in addition to the notes, 
a copy of the table of contents, a bibliography, and an 
envelope to hold illustrations. The bibliography enables 
the teacher to keep track of the children’s reading with 
the least expenditure of time. Moreover, it adds to the 
finished booklet; the reader can judge something of the 
value of the work by the standing of the authors consulted. 
This is explained to the children and helps to make them 
careful in selecting books for reference. 

A list of the topics selected and the child or children 
working upon each is posted near the filing case. Very 
soon the children have this list thoroughly in mind, and 
whenever, while searching for material for his own sub¬ 
ject, a child comes across something of interest to a class¬ 
mate, he either brings the book or tells him about it. 
Magazine articles, newspaper clippings, illustrations from 
Sunday papers, and the like, come in almost every day. 
Very few of the children fail to develop an interest in 
the other people’s subjects. Of course teachers suggest 
books, trips to museums, etc. 

Sometimes all the children working on special topics 
are brought together in order that the teacher may more 
economically call attention to certain errors which occur 
frequently. At such conferences also ideas may be devel¬ 
oped which have just occurred to the teacher or to one of 
the group. For instance, a boy who was working on the 
subject “Plains Indians” read Star , The Story of an Indian 
Pony , by Forrestine C. Hooker. 2 He* became so inter¬ 
ested in the story that he entirely forgot to make notes. 

2 Doubleday Page & Co., 1925. 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS (Continued) 93 

When he was through, he realized that there was informa¬ 
tion he wanted to use in his paper. He planned to re¬ 
read the book and hunt out this information. He was 
told that this was an uneconomical use of time, and that 
some way must be devised to avoid such waste in the 
future. The teacher realized that it was too much to 
expect a child to take full notes when reading an exciting 
story, yet often such stories contain just the information 
needed. She read a portion of the book to herself, taking 
“preliminary notes," that is, jotting down the number 
of the page, with an explanatory word or two, when she 
came to an item of value for the “thesis" on the “ Plains 
Indians." This interfered comparatively little with the 
reading. Later she could go back and take full notes on 
the topics so indicated. In conference with the group, 
she explained the procedure. 

The letters T, M, B (see excerpt from the “preliminary 
notes" given below) indicate the top, middle, and bottom 
of the page, a time-saving device when it comes to looking 
up the references: 

Star, The Story of an Indian Pony 
Forrestine C. Hooker 
p. 34 M. Indian’s opinion of white people 
57 B. Prayer of the Medicine Man 
113 T. Sewing 
116 M. 118 B. Tepee 
118 B. 119 B. An Indian Fight— 

White man’s fire-stick 

120 T. Prayer-sticks 

121 T. Breakfast 

122 T. 124 T. Buffalo hunt 

Children seldom realize the need of economy in the 
use of time. It is well worth while to call their attention 


94 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


to the fact that the habit of “budgeting time” is a de¬ 
cided asset, that the efficient person is the one who plans 
in advance how his hours are to be spent. But words of 
advice are not enough, opportunities must be given for 
the children to make such plans, learning through their 
mistakes. One way in which this has been done in connec¬ 
tion with the “juvenile theses” will be explained in detail. 

Class lessons in “regular history” continued while 
the children were working independently on their “ special 
topics.” When they were well started, in order to give 
them practice in budgeting their time and to parallel 
more closely the conditions under which the adult must 
carry on research, the teacher specified certain periods 
for which she would be responsible, leaving the children 
free to plan how they would use the periods set aside 
for study, and usually to decide when they would ask for 
conferences with one of the teachers, selecting from a 
schedule of times when the different teachers would be free. 
When one of the teachers had been looking over the work, 
she might tell certain children that they should confer 
with her, but even then she let them plan for the time if 
possible. 

This practice in budgeting time proved very valuable. 
The plan was in force for eight weeks. During four of 
those weeks the children were asked to bring in on Monday 
morning statements of how they spent the study periods 
during the preceding week, “time-tables,” we called 
them. The child who had planned poorly and had failed 
to finish the study assignment for the week, started on 
Monday in debt and had to pay the debt before he began 
the new assignment or did more work on his special topic. 
On Monday morning the plan for the week’s work was 
discussed. The children were told what topics in the 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS (Continued) 95 

textbook were to be considered, they were given a definite 
study assignment, and were told when teachers would be 
free to help them. Then three cards were placed on the 
bulletin board: 

I. A schedule of all the history periods for the week, recitation 
and study. 

II. A statement of the study assignment. 

III. A schedule of times when conferences might be had by appoint¬ 
ment only. 

Specimens of these cards are given below. 


I 


History 


March 30-April 3, 1925 

Mon. 

B.W.S. 

Week’s work discussed 



Study 

1 Period 

H.R.M. 

Tues. 

B.W.S. 

T. & K. pages 264-269 



Study 

1 Period 

B.W.S. 


H.W. 

1 hr. 


Wed. 

B.W.S., 

B. & B. Chap. XIV 



Study 

1 Period 

H.R.M. 


H.W. 

A hr. 


Thurs. 

B.W.S. 

B. & B. Chap. XIV 



H.W. 

'A hr. 


Fri. 

Excursion 



i 

H.W. 

1 hr. 



II 


History Study Assignment March 30-April 3, 1925 

B. & B. Chap. XV, pages 277-286 

Answers in writing, to ques. on 286,1 & II 
Special Topic 

Time-table to be made out. 










96 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


III 


History Conferences (by appointment) March 30-April 3, 1925 

Tues. 

B.W.S. 

Afternoon Recess 

After School until 4.30 

Wed. 

B.W.S. 

Before School 

Thurs. 

H.R.M. 

9.30-10.10 


B.W.S. 

Afternoon Recess 

Fri. 

H.R.M. 

After School until 4.30 


B.W.S., the initials of the history teacher, appearing in 
the second column of Card I, indicated to the children that 
she was responsible for conducting the lesson. On Monday 
of that week she led the discussion, criticizing the history 
papers of the previous week, and making suggestions in 
regard to the advance study assignment. On Tuesday 
she read aloud a chapter on “Canals and Railroads” from 
Thwaites and Kendall’s History of the United States. On 
Wednesday and Thursday she and the children studied 
together parts of a very difficult chapter in Beard and 
Bagley’s History—“ Three Decades of Political Develop¬ 
ment.” 

The teacher’s initials in the fourth column, indicated that 
she would be in the classroom during the study period, ready 
to confer with children who might need help. Children 
who did not need help were not required to remain in 
the classroom if they could work more profitably elsewhere. 
They might be found in the library; in the art room, con¬ 
ferring about a cover design; in a corner of the basketball 
court exchanging titles of books or illustrative material; 
on top of a carpenter’s bench, “ because they like to work 
there.” But wherever they were, with rare exceptions, 
they had a purposeful air; they were not wasting time. 

This arrangement of time met with the unqualified ap- 



HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS (Continued) 97 

proval of every member of the class. One day toward the 
end of the term the teacher said: 

“I have never used just this plan of work before. If children of 
your age don’t like it I need never use it again. I should like to 
know just how you feel about it. Please write a brief statement 
telling me whether or not you like it, giving reasons for your approval 
or disapproval.” 

She believes that the statements submitted are very 
genuine, for the children are frequently asked to state 
their opinions concerning matter and method in school 
procedure, and those opinions are by no means always 
complimentary to the “powers that be”; in other words, 
the children know that the teachers are honest in asking 
for frank criticism. 

Most of the reasons for approval fall under three main 
headings: 

It develops a sense of responsibility. 

It gives practice in budgeting time. 

It gives a feeling of freedom. 

Some children state only one reason, others see several 
advantages. On the whole the statements show that this 
opportunity to plan some of their work meets a real need in 
these children who are beginning to conceive of themselves 
as personalities and are craving independence. 

One child expresses this feeling picturesquely: 

“I like your plan of giving us the week’s work and letting us plan 
our time for ourselves because it makes me feel a greater responsi¬ 
bility and a greater interest in the work when I know that I’m my 
own ‘boss.’ ” 

Another says: 

“I like the idea of having the history assigned at the beginning of 
the week because at times I don’t feel like doing history work and the 
special topic seems more inviting, while at times it is just the reverse.” 


98 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


The following statement is somewhat confused but 
shows an appreciation of one element in wise use of time: 

“I like the new plan because in a period, if we have two projects to 
work on, I might have a good chance to get material for one, and 
we have to do the other one, now I can do what is best. I think that 
the plan teaches us self-reliance, and makes us depend on ourselves 
more than if the teachers did our thinking for us.” 

Something of the same idea is contained in the following: 

“I liked the plan much better by which we could plan our own 
work for the week than if we had been told what to do at each period. 
For instance you might start a chapter on the topic and the next 
period have to do something else while it really would be better to 
go on with the topic.” 

The “time-tables” referred to on page 94 made it possi¬ 
ble for the teacher to see how the children were planning 
their work. A tabulation of the “time-tables” of the 
twenty children for the four weeks during which they were 
handed in shows that most of the children, unless there was 
some special reason for doing otherwise, studied the regular 
history assignment during the early periods of the week 
and spent whatever time was left over on their special 
topics. One child explained, “I finish the history assign¬ 
ment quickly, then I get more time to work on my ‘ special 
topic.’” This explanation is only one indication that the 
“special topics,” self-chosen, were more popular than the 
regular history, imposed upon the children, so we are not to 
judge that the children did first what they liked best, as a 
dog eats first the meat and then the bread. Another evi¬ 
dence of interest is furnished by the following fact. During 
a part of the Seventh Grade year, eleven especially good 
spellers were excused from spelling and were free to use the 
spelling time for whatever they chose. For the eleven 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS (Continued) 99 

children there was an aggregate of two hundred and sixteen 
such free periods. Of these, one hundred and fifty-six, 
more than two-thirds, were used for work on “ special 
topics.” 

The children were told to note on their “ time-tables” 
any extra time spent and the reason for spending it. Such 
notes as the following occur: 

“Monday during spelling period I worked on the history outline 
from Beard and Bagley, and I did the same thing on Tuesday at 
school and at home. I worked extra on it Monday and Tuesday 
because I wanted the rest of my time for my Special Topic. Thurs¬ 
day’s homework time I spent reading In the Days of the Pioneers for 
my special topic and I read extra in that because it was very interest¬ 
ing. Thursday morning I talked to Miss-(the art teacher) about 

the cover for my special topic.” 

The motive underlying the practice of doing the required 
history first is summed up in the following sentence from 
one “time-table:” 

“I worked on my history at home on Wednesday 3 so that I could 
finish it and get it off my mind.” 

A child who failed to do the required work because he 
worked too long on his topic early in the week writes: 

“I now see that I spent my time unwisely, not spending enough 
time on my outline.” 4 (He did not err in that way again.) 

Exceptions to the sensible rule of doing the required work 
first usually showed good judgment. A boy who was need¬ 
ing to make frequent use of reference books in the school 
library for two weeks spent all the study periods at school 
on his “special topic,” and studied his history during the 
homework periods. 

3 Wednesday was not a history homework day. 

4 Outline referred to was history assignment for the week. 


100 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


After the children had taken sufficient notes to be ready 
to write a chapter or two, they felt the need of consulting 
the teacher who had supervised their written English for 
two years, and could help them more easily and satisfacto¬ 
rily than could the history teacher, so English as well as 
history periods were thrown open to them. This fact in¬ 
fluenced the planning of the week’s work. 

The schedule given on page 95 represents such a week. 
There were seven periods open to the children: 

1. In charge of the English teacher. 

2. In charge of the history teacher. 

3. Homework 

4. In charge of English teacher. 

5. Homework 

6. Homework 

7. Homework 

The majority of the children worked on their special 
topics during periods 1, 4, 5, and on the required history 
during 2 and 3. Some needed more time for the history 
and used period 6. A few, having obtained what help they 
needed from the English teacher in one period, finished their 
history in period 4. 

What took place during the conferences can be illus¬ 
trated by reproducing some of the notes made by the teach¬ 
ers 5 as they read the chapters which the children considered 
finished: 

Subject: Inventions 
Table of Contents 

Chapter I. Old Home Industry (Finished) 

Chapter II. The Growth of Industry 
Section I. Machinery for Factories (Finished) 

Section II. The Use of Steam 

6 The English teacher’s comments are given in the chapter on “Self-Ex¬ 
pression Through English Composition,” pp. 167-180. 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS (Continued) 101 


Chapter III. The Results of the Industrial Revolution 
Section I. 

Section II. Modem Inventions 

Teacher’s Notes. Chapter I. I think you make a mistake to try to 


write your first chapter in the present tense. It 
might be done in the form of letters, perhaps, or 
in some such way, but as it is, it is a mixture of 
present and past. The subject matter is interesting 
and clearly presented except for that mixture. 
Chapter II. Section I. Extremely interesting. 
The transitions in some places are abrupt. Per¬ 
haps some dates might be added. 


Subject: Housing in New York City 


Table of Contents 

Chapter I. Colonial Houses 
Chapter II. Crowded Tenements 
Chapter III. Efforts at Reform 
Chapter IV. Skyscrapers 


(Finished) 


( “ ) 
(not started) 
(partly done) 


Teacher’s Notes. It is disjointed. The idea of growth is not clear. 


Chapter I. It should contain descriptions of 
early Dutch houses, and of later comfortable 
colonial homes. You give the idea that there 
were no steps between log cabins and modem 
dwellings. 

Chapter II. Very good. A few minor changes, 
to be suggested. 

Chapter IV. Earlier business houses should be 
described as an introduction to the section on 
skyscrapers. 


Subject: Indians 
Introduction 
Chapter I. 

Chapter II. 

Teacher’s Notes. I find no table of contents and no bibliography. 


Are you intending to write this in past or pres¬ 
ent tense? It is such a jumble of the two that 
I could make no headway. I have read only the 
Introduction. 


102 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


Subject: Welfare Work 

Chapters—Chapter I. Hudson Guild (Finished) 

Ready Chapter II. Henry Street Settlement ( “ ) 

Chapter III. Children’s Gardens ( “ ) 

Chapter IV. Municipal Work ( “ ) 


Not completed—Chapter V. Other Organizations 


Teacher’s Notes. 

I. Excellent 

II. Not quite so good. I think you have given 
as the regular method, what would be excep¬ 
tional. Look over your pamphlets more care¬ 
fully. Phone to the Settlement or go there, 
if you cannot find out from the printed mat¬ 
ter you have on hand. 

III. The chapter is interesting, but you can make 
it more so after a visit to the Gardens. 

IV. This chapter is vague. There is no frame¬ 
work apparent, it is disjointed. There is 
much excellent material which should be re¬ 
arranged and “cemented” together according 
to a definite plan. 


(Ready for typing) 


^ «« a 

( U it 

^ Cl (( 

(Finished) 


Subject: Transportation 
Table of Contents 

Human Transportation 
Development of Boats 
Stage Coaches and Other Early Vehicles 
The Progress of Railroads 
Automobiles 
Aeroplanes 

Scraps from the Latest News 

Teacher’s Notes. Ford was not the first manufacturer of autos. 
You should tell more of earlier cars. 

Your account of the trial of his car is very good. 
Trucks are a type of automobiles. 

We should confer as soon as possible. 


We will let the children tell what they think they gained 
from writing these booklets. They were asked one day to 


HELPING CHILD ORGANIZE FACTS (Continued) 103 

hand in a statement of what they thought they had learned, 
beside certain facts concerning their chosen topics. The 
papers were written after a few minutes of quiet reflection, 
with no opportunity to consult anyone. Several of these 
papers are reproduced here: 

“I have gained from my Special Topic a desire to write another 
one, more skill in writing, a little more skill in note-taking.” 

“I think that I gained knowledge of how to budget time; how to 
go about finding facts, as finding the kind of books to look up in, and 
to look things up in the books.” 

“I think my Special Topic has helped me a great, great deal in 
taking notes quickly and fully. I also think it has helped in writing 
the story from the notes, which I always found dull and uninteresting. 
I think it has also aided me in formal English.” 

“I think working on my topic has given me a better ability to do 
things by myself. It is my first big piece of work, and it will help me to 
be able to carry things through. Also, I learned how to make use of 
notes.” 

“I have learned from working on my Special Topic that when I 
want to do a thing I must have it all planned out, either in my mind 
or on paper, as far as possible; to not go off the track when I start 
something, and start doing another part of it, or something else en¬ 
tirely. I think that if I had to do another Special Topic or something 
like it, I could do it easier and better than this one because of the 
experience I have gained.” 

Among other things, one girl states, “I found out that research 
books are usually less inclined to exaggerate than story books. 

“I have learned how to classify things for different chapters. 

It has helped me with making true facts, instead of just fiction, 
interesting, and given me a certain idea of limiting my thoughts 
so that I can cover the ground, that I did not have before.” 

Only one child indicates that she is conscious of any¬ 
thing undesirable resulting from the work. She says: 

“I think that by doing my topic I have gained a little by writing 
my notes. I have, I think, also gained the power of a little bit more 
concentration power than I had. I also think that I have lost the 


104 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

power of liking to write, temporarily, for writing nearly 50 or more 
pages on the same thing is apt to get tiresome. I also think that I 
have gained the power of sticking to a thing that I started. 

It is quite possible that the work was too difficult for this 
child. The crudity of her statement in itself shows her 
limited ability. It has been expected always that some 
children would need more help than others, and that the 
finished topics would vary greatly in quality and length. 6 
But after having carried through this project with several 
Seventh Grade groups, we have come to feel that certain 
children who can carry ordinary Seventh Grade work should 
not be required to undertake a task requiring such a degree 
of mental maturity. 

It may be well to note also that the project could scarcely 
be carried out with a large class. The work involved in 
supervising twenty such topics is a severe tax on the two 
cooperating teachers. We believe that for a small group 
of children of marked ability the work is very valuable. 

6 The booklets written during the spring term of 1925 ranged in length 
from 3,453 to 10,708 words, the average being 6,345. The children were not 
allowed to copy longhand; it was required that the booklets be typewritten. 


CHAPTER V 


r. 


TEACHING THE CHILD HOW TO MAKE THE 
MOST ECONOMICAL USE OF HIS MEMORY 

For many years school procedure overemphasized me¬ 
chanical memorizing, learning by heart/’ by means of 
endless drills. Children have been justified in feeling that 
the teacher’s main object in life was to cram facts into 
their resisting minds, that to forget facts verged upon 
criminality. In the recent revulsion of feeling against 
this method there is danger of neglecting all definite mem¬ 
orizing, of trusting entirely to understanding and interest 
to impress permanently knowledge which the pupils should 
have stored ready for use. 

To underestimate the need of drill is better than to over¬ 
estimate it, for drill without understanding and interest 
does very little good. Whereas, once a child is interested 
in a subject and understands it thoroughly, the impressions 
received are likely to be more or less permanent without 
conscious effort on the child’s part. 

However drill has its place. It is important that a child’s 
mental equipment should include certain frameworks of 
facts, properly integrated, to which other facts can be re¬ 
lated, and usually some drill is necessary for the perma¬ 
nent acquisition of facts. In his fascinating book A Child's 
History of the World / Hillyer gives such “an outline for 
future filling in” which he calls: 

1 Hillyer, V. M., The Century Co., 1924. 

105 


106 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

“A TIME TABLE 
WITH 

DATES AND OTHER FOOD 
FOR THOUGHT” 

The first twelve items are: 

Beginning of the Earth 

First Rain-Storm 

Plants 

Mites 

Insects 

Fish 

Frogs 

Snakes 

Birds 

Animals 

Monkeys 

People 

Then follow sixty-one dates, with from one to five topics 
connected with each. “The topics selected have not al¬ 
ways been the most important—but the most important 
that can be understood and appreciated by a child.” The 
book is intended for children as young as nine years. The 
first date given is 4000 B. C., the beginning of the Bronze 
Age; the last, 1918, the end of the Great War. 

Between these are such outstanding facts and dates as: 


1700 B. C. 
1300 B. C. 
753 B. C. 

500 B. C. 

336 B. C. 
323 B. C.. 
800 A. D. 
1100 A. D. 
1440 A. D. 


Israelites go to Egypt 
Exodus: Iron Age Begins 
Founding of Rome 
Brahmanism 
Buddhism 
Confucianism 

Alexander the Great 

Charlemagne 
The Crusades 
Invention of Printing 



TEACHING ECONOMICAL USE OF MEMORY 107 

1492 A. D. Columbus: Discovery of America 

1700 A. D. Peter the Great—etc. 

To the teacher Hillyer says: 

In order to serve the purpose of a basal outline, which in the future 
is to be filled in, it is necessary that the Time Table be made a per¬ 
manent possession of the pupil. This Time Table, therefore, should 
be studied like the multiplication tables until it is known one hun¬ 
dred per cent and for “keeps,” and until the topic connected with 
each date can be elaborated as much as desired. ... It is not as 
difficult as it may sound, if suggestions given in the text for con¬ 
necting the various events into a sequence and for passing names 
and events in a condensed review are followed. Hundreds of Calvert 2 
children each year are successfully required to do this very thing. 

To the children he says: 

Don’t devour these dates all at once, or they’ll make you sick, and 
you’ll never want to see one again. Take them piecemeal, only one or 
two at a time after each story, and be sure to digest them thoroughly. 

Throughout the text the author suggests many interest¬ 
ing devices for aiding the memory. One or two illustra¬ 
tions will suffice to show how thoroughly he knows the 
child mind. The book will be found helpful by every 
teacher of young children. 

In connection with the map of Mesopotamia, and to im¬ 
press the new names, Tigris and Euphrates, Hillyer suggests: 

You might make these two rivers in the ground of your yard or 
garden or draw them on the floor if your mother will let you. Just 
for fun you might name your drinking-cup “Tigris” and your glass 
“Euphrates.” Then call your mouth, into which they both empty, the 
“Persian Gulf.” 3 

Again, after telling of Menes, and what he is supposed 
to have done for Egypt, he says: 

2 Mr. Hillyer is head master of Calvert School, Baltimore, Maryland. 

3 Hillyer, V. M., A Child’s History of the World , p. 21. The Century 
Co., 1924. 


108 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


... he probably lived about 3400 B. C. He may have lived 
either earlier or later, but as this is an easy date to remember we 
shall take it for a starting point. You might remember it by sup¬ 
posing it is a telephone number of a person you wanted to call up: 

“Menes, First Egyptian King . . . 3400 B. C.” 4 

It is evident that under Mr. Hillyer’s guidance the 
mastery of this outline of the world’s history does not 
depend upon mere repetition, though repetition is one 
element in the process. Suggestions are given for “ con¬ 
necting the various events into a sequence,” devices are 
suggested for forming associations; in other words, he de¬ 
pends largely upon “ rational memorizing as distinguished 
from that which is purely mechanical.” 5 

It is most important for children to realize that memoriz¬ 
ing and thinking are not two entirely different mental proc¬ 
esses. To give them a functioning realization of the re¬ 
lation of thought to retention requires eternal vigilance. 
Even a group of Seventh Grade children, who throughout 
their school career have been guided in the use of rational 
methods, if left alone to memorize a poem, let us say, will 
tend to simply “hammer it in.” It has been found that 
children of this grade profit from definite instruction in the 
mechanics of memorizing. A series of four lessons given to 
one Seventh Grade is here reported in detail. 

First Lesson 

Memorizing Built Upon Thinking 

The children were given typewritten copies of Mase¬ 
field’s “On Eastnor Knoll,” and asked how they would 
proceed to memorize it. 

4 Ibid., pp. 28, 29. 

6 Earhart, Lida B., Teaching Children to Study , p. 16. Houghton Mifflin 
Co., 1909. 


TEACHING ECONOMICAL USE OF MEMORY 109 

“I should read it over and over till I knew it—till it was fixed.” 

“I should read the whole poem once, then the first stanza. I should 
try to say it and look if necessary. Memorize each stanza separately.” 

“First read it and then write it to remember it better.” 

“Read it several times. Then learn one line at a time, then two 
lines together.” 

At that point the teacher remarked: 

“ No one has told of a sensible way. ” 

The next child did a little better: 

“ I should read the poem to get the thought first. Then I should 
learn the stanzas one by one. ” 

The teacher’s comment was: 

“Ruth has given one valuable suggestion, ‘get the thought first.’ 
Her idea of memorizing stanza by stanza is not so good. Now sup¬ 
pose that together we work out a good method of memorizing a poem 
by studying this one, and then seeing just how we did it. 

“John Masefield is an English poet. A knoll is a little hill. I imag¬ 
ine that Masefield is describing in his poem something that he has 
seen from a little hill somewhere in England. 

“ The first thing to do is to read the poem through, trying to see 
the scene as the author describes it. I shall read it to you now. 
Some of you may care to shut your eyes. Any of you who want to 
follow as I read may do so.” 

On Eastnor Knoll 6 

Silent are the woods, and the dim green boughs are 
Hushed in the twilight: yonder, in the path through 
The apple orchard, is a tired plough-boy 
Calling the cows home. 

A bright white star blinks, the pale moon rounds, but 
Still the red, lurid wreckage of the sunset 

6 Masefield, John, Collected Poems , Vol. I, p. 38. The Macmillan Co., 
1923. 


110 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


Smoulders in smoky fire, and burns on 
The misty hill-tops. 

Ghostly it grows, and darker, the burning 
Fades into smoke, and now the gusty oaks are 
A silent army of phantoms thronging 
A land of shadows. 

“ I do not believe that all of you understand all of the poem. Per¬ 
haps some of you do not like it very well. If that is the case, I imagine 
that it is because you do not understand some parts and so cannot see 
the pictures. 

“ There is no use in starting to memorize it until you do understand 
it. Words which we study parrot-fashion are not apt to ‘stick’ 
very well, and they give us no pleasure, make us no richer. William 
James, one of the greatest educators, tells, in words that I think 
you can understand, what one should do when one starts to memorize 
material which is new to him. He says, ‘. . . The art of memorizing 
is the art of thinking; . . . when we fix a new thing in either our 
own mind or a pupil’s, our conscious effort should not be so much to 
impress and retain as to connect it with something else already there. 
The connecting is the thinking, and if we attend clearly to the con¬ 
nection, the connected thing will certainly be likely to remain within 
recall.’ 7 

“ Well, let us try the plan of first thinking about the poem. That 
is just what your teachers have always done with you when they 
have given you a poem to memorize, but you have not realized that 
the thinking was a part of the memorizing. I want you now to 
realize that so fully that you will not, when studying independently, 
start to memorize anything until you understand it. 

“ Suppose I reread the poem. Then I want you to tell me what it 
is about, perhaps by suggesting another title.” 

To give all details of the discussion would occupy more 
space than can be devoted to this lesson. As questions 
were asked and answered, something like an outline of the 
poem became apparent. This is given below, the words 

7 James, William, Talks to Teachers, p. 142. Henry Holt & Co., 1901. 
With some groups it may be necessary to paraphrase this selection. 


TEACHING ECONOMICAL USE OF MEMORY 111 


in parentheses indicating some of the associations made 
with past experiences. 

The children understood that the poet is describing a 
sunset, not in one picture, as an artist might paint it, 
but in a series of sketches, three separate pictures, in fact, 
one in each stanza. As a title “A Sunset Seen From East- 
nor Knoll” was suggested: 

A Sunset Seen From Eastnor Knoll 

I. Twilight 

Silent woods (The wind often dies down at sunset and every¬ 
thing seems hushed; birds do not sing.) 

Dim green boughs (The light was beginning to fade.) 

Tired plough-boy (You are tired after a day of work or play 
in the open air.) 

Calling the cows home. (John—I used to help bring in the 

cows when I was on a farm one summer, and sometimes 
we stopped to see the pretty colors in the sky.) 

II. A Little Later. 

A bright white star (It would be yellow later.) 

Pale moon (How many of you have seen the moon looking 
white like paper in the early evening?) 

The red, lurid wreckage of the sunset (That is hard. Look in 
your dictionary for lurid. Wreckage—the sunset is 
past its greatest glory. It is beginning “to go to pieces,” 
we might say.) 

Smoulders in smoky fire (The colors are not as bright as they 
were.) 

Burns on the misty hill-tops. (The outline of the hills is not 
clear against the sky as it was earlier.) 

III. Still later. 

Ghostly it grows, and darker (Ghosts are always associated 
with night and darkness.) 

The burning fades into smoke (All the red has gone from the 
sky and the clouds are a smoky grey. Many sunsets 
end that way.) 

The gusty oaks. (The wind has risen again and the boughs 


112 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


of the oaks are moved by it, but the poet is too far away 
to hear the rustling for he calls them—) 

A silent army of phantoms (Ghost-like creatures.) 

Thronging a land of shadows. (The light has almost gone; all 
is dark and mysterious.) 

“ Now that you have thought the poem through carefully and con¬ 
nected parts of it with things that we have known before, associated 
new ideas with old ones, I am going to read it again so that we can 
judge whether we have in our minds clear and complete impressions 
of the pictures the author painted for us. If the impression in the 
beginning gives you a feeling of confusion and uncertainty you are 
apt to have that same feeling each time the subject is referred to. 
Then if you ever are to have a clear idea of the subject you have to 
unlearn and relearn, so to speak, and that takes much more time 
than it does to learn properly in the first place. 8 

“For many years I used what was called vertical penmanship. Most 
of the letters were the same shape as in the system I now use, but these 
letters slant and those stood up straight. The capital S however, 
was an entirely different shape. (The two forms were placed side 
by side on the blackboard—S, Since my last name begins with 

S, I had made many, many S’s and the pattern was very clearly de¬ 
veloped. Now, whenever I am writing in a great hurry, that old 
pattern insists on being made and I find myself making a capital S 
after the old fashion. If another S follows almost immediately 
it is apt to be made according to my present style, and I have a 
ridiculous thing like this— Summer £fea. The new form objects to 
the old and insists on being used. This happens to me over and 
over again when I am in a hurry, or am very tired. You see relearning 
is not so satisfactory as learning properly to begin with. There is apt 
always to be some confusion of the two patterns. 

“Listen, now while I reread the poem, 

“ How many of you saw clearly the three pictures? Does anyone 
want to ask a question about any point? I wonder how many of 
you find that you have already begun to memorize the poem. With- 

8 “A wrong association is very hard to eradicate. It introduces an element 
of competition into the working of the association. . . .” Watt, H. J., 
The Economy and Training of Memory , p. 128. Longman, Green & Co., 1909. 


TEACHING ECONOMICAL USE OF MEMORY 113 


out looking at your copy, see how much of it you can say with me 
as I read it once more. How many of you in some places knew be¬ 
fore I said them what words were coming? (Many hands went up.) 
I thought so. Professor James was right you see, thinking is remem¬ 
bering, or the biggest part of it at any rate. 

“ Probably, however, no one knows the whole poem. We shall need 
to make the impressions deeper by repetition. Read the poem from 
beginning to end, from beginning to end. Do not study it ‘piece¬ 
meal,’ impress the whole poem, and the whole poem is likely to 
come back when you want it. Some of you like to study a poem by 
tiny bits and then cement the bits together. Experiments 9 have 
proved that time is saved in memorizing poetry by using the ‘whole 
method’ as it is called, with even long poems. The longest experi¬ 
mented with was two hundred and forty lines in length. That is a 
longer poem than you are asked to learn. Some children have come 
to realize the advantage of the ‘whole method’ in memorizing 
poetry. A boy said to me once, ‘ When I go over and over the whole 
poem, I get the sweep of the ideas. When I study a little bit and 
then another little bit, I get just words.’ 

“ Some of you seem to find the ‘whole method’ so very hard that 
it may be wiser for you to break a long poem into rather large sec¬ 
tions and learn each section as a whole. 10 This poem is so short, only 
twelve lines, that that should not be necessary. It could be taken 
a stanza at a time, for each stanza gives a complete picture, and might 
be taken as a whole. But I repeat that I believe every one of you 
should try to learn this poem as a whole. 

“Now suppose you study quietly for a few minutes.” 

Some children, a very few, were ready to recite in five 
minutes. They were permitted to do so. Comment was 
made upon the fact that some people memorize more 
quickly than others do. 

9 Pyle, William Henry, The Psychology of Learning, p. 107. Warwick and 
York, Inc., 1921. 

10 This procedure is sanctioned by Pyle. Ibid., p. 107. Some children 
seem unable to keep their attention fixed throughout a long selection, and 
are so panic-stricken at the very idea of having to study in that way that 
they fail to memorize the selection. 


114 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


Second Lesson 

Speed in Memorizing 

“ Some of you memorize much more quickly than others. I wonder 
why? ” 

John: “I have a poor memory.” 

“ Perhaps you have, but from the expression on your face during the 
little study period yesterday, I think you were not paying very good 
attention to the work. Repetition must be thoughtful repetition or 
it does not do much good; your ‘wits go woolgathering.’ Let us 
see what may have been happening. I wonder whether this is not 
what took place, John. When you came to the words ‘Calling the 
cows home’ you forgot the poem and began to live over again some 
of the jolly times you have had doing that very thing. 

“ Perhaps someone’s attention wandered when he came to the words 
‘smoulders in smoky fire,’ because not long ago he had seen a fire. 
It was a very exciting experience and made a deep impression on his 
mind, so the words ‘smoky fire’ called up that experience. 

“ Another child may have been getting along very well until he came 
to the word ‘ghostly.’ Let us suppose that the night before he was 
reading The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The word ‘ghostly’ suggested 
the ‘Headless Horseman,’ and off he went, following him and chuck- 
' ling about the pumpkin. The impression of the story was very fresh 
and strong and attractive, and held his attention. 

“ A fourth child may have forgotten the poem when she heard some 
noise from the street, and her mind was filled with questions as to 
what caused the noise. 

“ For a time at least, those four children were not paying attention 
to the poem. Ideas which had nothing to do with the poem became 
active, in the first three cases because some word or words in the 
poem suggested those ideas, which being especially interesting to 
them, filled their consciousness. They may even have gone on saying 
the words of the poem, but not being conscious of them. 

“ The question is, What should they do to get their attention back 
to the poem? And it is not an easy question to answer. 

“ Educators differ about the matter of attention, but I can give you 
a few suggestions that may prove helpful especially when starting a 
study period. One’s mind is more apt to run smoothly in the proper 


TEACHING ECONOMICAL USE OF MEMORY 115 

paths: (1) if one is sitting up straight, in a wide-awake attitude than 
if one is lounging back lazily, (2) if one starts promptly on the task 
instead of fidgeting with things on the desk or looking out of the win¬ 
dow, or getting up to get a drink or sharpen a pencil after one has 
sat down with the idea of beginning, (3) if one sets a time limit, T 
mean to finish this task in fifteen minutes,’ for example, (4) if one 
studies aloud. 

“ Let us consider that last point for a moment. If you hear and feel 
yourself say the words, the impression made on your mind is deeper 
than if you simply see them. It is desirable to consider a fact in as 
many ways as possible, so as to make a very complete impression. 
Moreover, an impression which includes sight images, sound images, 
and muscular images is more apt to be recalled. The sound of the 
words, their appearance, feelings in your throat are all apt to recall it. 

“ You may start to study sensibly, promptly, sitting in an erect 
position, reading aloud, and may study vigorously for a time. Then 
suddenly you may realize that you are not thinking about your work. 
You may do one of two things, let your mind drift, or start over again 
to pay attention. 

“Sometimes because one is tired, or because the subject is very un¬ 
interesting it seems as if it were impossible to keep the attention from 
wandering. It may be wise then to drop the matter and take it up 
later when one can attack it freshly. We may then be surprised to 
find that we know the subject better than we thought we did, and, 
in truth, the impression may have been deepened during the period 
of rest. James tells us that the nourishment carried to the brain 
by the blood helps to strengthen the impressions made there by our 
thinking. 11 This takes time. It is often wise then, not to attempt to 
learn a thing at one sitting, but to devote two or three periods to 
the memorizing. You know that this is true in learning some new 
motion, like a certain stroke in tennis. Probably some of you have 
been surprised by finding that you could do better on Thursday than 
you did on Tuesday, the last day you practiced. This led one author 
to say that we ‘learn to swim during the winter and to skate during 
the summer.’ 12 Some of you may have had the experience of dis¬ 
covering that you could recite smoothly and perfectly in the morning 

11 James, William, Psychology: Briefer Course , pp. 137-138. Henry Holt 
& Co., 1904. 

12 Quoted by James, Ibid., p. 138. 


116 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


something which you had memorized with difficulty and poorly the 
evening before. It seemed to impress itself upon your mind while 
you slept. Breaks in study are often helpful; especially is it a good 
thing to review after a night’s rest. 13 

“ Sometimes it is wise to stop and exercise for five or ten minutes 
and then go back to your work. Try never to sit with your mind 
drifting idly when you are supposed to be studying. If you find it 
impossible to pay attention and study vigorously, deliberately get 
up and do something active, forget your work for a few minutes, play 
ball, run around the block, jump rope, wash your face with cold 
water,—do something vigorous and then go back and work hard.” 

Third Lesson 

Good and Poor Memories 

“ When I asked you why some people memorize more quickly than 
others, John suggested that some people have poor memories. I 
did not treat the suggestion very respectfully at the time. Instead, 
I took up the matter of paying attention. But it is true that people’s 
minds differ greatly in native retentiveness , that is, in some people an 
impression, once in the mind, seems to remain there always, ready 
to be recalled or remembered, while in other people the impressions 
seem to fade very quickly. 

“Some educators feel that the substance of the brain is different in 
different people and that that fact accounts for the difference in 
native retentiveness. They believe that whatever the quality of a 
person’s brain tissue it cannot be changed, but this does not mean 
that a person with poor native retentiveness need say to himself, T 
have a poor memory, and I can’t help it,’ and then expect to be ex¬ 
cused when he forgets important duties. Not at all. Such people 
can do a great deal to help themselves to remember things. Make 

13 “In normal memory the process of organization is continually going on, 
and in order that ideas may become a part of the permanent memory, time 
must elapse for the organization or consolidation to be completed. Any¬ 
thing that interferes with this hinders acquisition. Evidence seems to be 
added by unpublished studies by Dallenback showing that a period of eight 
hours of sleep is much more favorable to retention than a waking period of 
eight hours.” Burnham, William H., The Normal Mind, p. 510. D. Ap¬ 
pleton & Co., 1924. 


TEACHING ECONOMICAL USE OF MEMORY 117 

associations with the facts, and more associations and still more 
associations, and then the facts are likely to be held in their minds. 

The people with good native retentiveness are by no means always 
the most intelligent. Some people who can repeat verbatim whole 
pages of printed matter after one reading seem unable to think about 
what they read. Sometimes rather dull people can remember every 
’phone number they ever use, every address or date that is once fa¬ 
miliar. Other people with very good intelligence find verbatim 
memorizing very difficult, and are not able to remember dates or 
addresses or other separate facts without especial effort. 

One lady I knew was asked to give a lecture on a very difficult 
subject. She had no trouble in preparing the lecture, but when the 
day came for her to deliver it, she had forgotten that it was the date 
set and did not appear in the lecture hall. 

We should all find it most convenient to have very retentive mem¬ 
ories, minds like ‘wax under a seal’ from which no impression could 
be wiped out. People who have such minds and who in addition 
think deeply have remarkable mental power. 

“It happens, however, that many of the persons who have climbed 
to the greatest heights of mental achievement have been those who 
recognized that their native retentiveness was poor and have set 
about to overcome this handicap. You have heard of cases of ex¬ 
tremely delicate children, who have grown up to be especially sturdy 
because everything possible was done to make them strong. 

“If some of you find that you do not remember as easily as your 
classmates, do not be discouraged. You may, if you work intelli¬ 
gently, become very successful students. Form the habit of always 
associating new facts with facts that are already in your mind. Deepen 
the impression of the thing you want to remember by considering it 
very carefully, finding out all you can about it, its color, sound, use, 
location, etc. Ask yourself questions about its meaning, causes, re¬ 
sults, or what not, and then try to find the answers. You may have 
been uninterested at first, but the more you learn about a subject, 
the more interested you are apt to become, and you know that when 
anything interests you very much you are pretty sure to remember it. 
Sometimes tasks are set you which are uninteresting. If you can 
make yourself interested, you are more likely to succeed.” 

(Here a child protested), “You can’t make yourself interested. 
Things are just interesting or they aren’t.” 


118 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

“You cannot make yourself interested by just saying, Til be in¬ 
terested.’ You can, however, work up an interest as I have sug¬ 
gested by studying into the subject and associating it with past ex¬ 
perience. But whatever you do, don’t be silly enough to,make the 
feeling of dislike stronger by saying, T hate this old lesson.’ 

“There are some facts which seem to stand alone, like dates, the 
spelling of words, etc. If one has poor native retentiveness what 
can he do to help himself remember such things? Some people would 
help themselves by saying over and over the two things which they 
wish to remember together,- 4 Columbus-1492’; ‘ Saturday-lec- 
ture.’ Whenever the idea ‘Saturday’ came up it would tend to 
drag ‘lecture’ with it, and vice versa. As a matter of fact, the lady 
of whom I told you tied up with the idea ‘Saturday’ the idea ‘I 
must clean my closet.’ So when Saturday came she cleaned her 
closet and forgot the lecture. You see that it is important to tie 
together the right ideas. This the lady of the lecture usually does, 
and while her native retentiveness is poor, she has developed a re¬ 
liable practical memory. Long before loose-leafed notebooks and 
card catalogues were in use, she invented similar aids for herself. 
Sometimes just the fact of making a written record causes her to 
remember, and she does not need to look it up in her file. 

“There are people who help themselves to remember such things 
by changing a ring to a finger on which they usually do not wear one. 
Every time they feel it to be uncomfortable, they think of the thing 
they have associated with it. Others carry little books in which they 
make note of things to be done. If one has very poor native reten¬ 
tiveness he ought to do something of the kind to avoid inconven¬ 
iencing other people by his forgetfulness. 

“It is very nice to be born one of the people who never misspell a 
word once seen and who never confuse a rule once understood. But 
some children who are not so blessed, make themselves just as re¬ 
liable by inventing funny little devices. For example, some class 
which had trouble to spell arithmetic invented a nonsense statement, 
the initial letters of which form the word, 1 A rat in /he house way 
eat the ice-cream.’ 

“Their and there are puzzling. The one that means place and is 
the opposite of here has a here shut up in it. Is their spelled their or 
thier? Somebody discovered that it means both hers and his to¬ 
gether, and that since ladies precede gentleman, the e comes before 


TEACHING ECONOMICAL USE OF MEMORY 119 

the i. In trying to learn to and too a little girl always said to herself 
that the one that means too many has more o’s than the other, too 
many o’s for comfort, in fact. 

“it is good fun and a valuable exercise to make a game of inventing 
such tricks. In the light of what you have been learning do you see 
why such silly seeming tricks are useful?” 

A number of children showed by their answers to this 
question that they really did see the value. 

“Yes, they keep you thinking about the point for a longer time.” 

“They make you interested.” 

“They make the impression deeper.” 

Fourth Lesson 

Application of Principles to New Material 

The method of memorizing which had been developed in 
connection with learning the poem “On Eastnor Knoll” was 
reviewed in connection with quite different material which 
also involved rote memory. 

The history assignment included a list of the “Four 
Important Powers of Congress,” and the children were 
expected to memorize the list. The preliminary discussion, 
intended to review the method of memorizing and insure 
proper application of the same, began somewhat as follows: 

Read the list of the “Four Important Powers of Congress” given 
on page 181. 14 

. . . “Under the new plan Congress was given power to: 

(1) lay and collect taxes without asking the help of state govern¬ 

ments; 

(2) raise and support armies and naval forces directly without call¬ 

ing on the states for permission; 

14 Beard and Bagley, The History of the American People , p, 18L The 
Macmillan Co., 1925. 


120 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

(3) regulate trade and commerce with foreign countries and between 

the states ; 

(4) do all things necessary and proper to carry into effect the powers 

conferred by the Constitution.” 

“Do you understand them well enough to make it sensible to begin 
to impress them? Remember that thinking is a large part of remem¬ 
bering; that we should be sure to have a clear and accurate first 
impression. Reread the list with these points in mind. 

“Now if any point or points are not clear to you, ask me questions 
until they are.” 

After a number of questions had been answered by the 
teacher or by children, the teacher concluded: 

“if you are studying alone, you will have to get answers to your 
questions in some other way. Perhaps you will need to consult the 
dictionary, perhaps you should read about these powers in some book 
which explains them more fully. Civil Government is such a book. 15 
In any case, you should not begin to memorize them until you do 
understand them.” 

********* 

While geography as at present taught is no longer a mat¬ 
ter of learning boundaries, lists of capital cities, and of ex¬ 
ports and imports, etc., certain geographical facts must be 
memorized if children are to have a framework into which 
to fit new facts, any permanent body of geographical knowl¬ 
edge. But the thinking must come first. We cannot be 
sure that studying why Chicago grew so large will fix the 
exact location of Chicago in a child’s mind, so it must be 
studied, but we should be sure that he knows something 
about the place before we expect him to memorize its loca¬ 
tion. As one teacher puts it, “The memorizing of locations 
must come at the end of the study of a region when the 
names are 4 freighted with meaning.’ ” Furthermore, in 

15 Schwinn and Stevenson, Civil Government. J. B. Lippincott Co., 1913. 


TEACHING ECONOMICAL USE OF MEMORY 121 

setting the child the task of memorizing a list of locations, 
we should be very sure that he is not merely repeating 
words, but that in addition to ideas in regard to the places 
themselves, he is also visualizing their position on a map in 
relation to other known places. Pupils start such a study 
by locating the places on desk outline maps with books 
open and the teacher constantly supervising the work. 
Then they learn each location, testing themselves on a 
wall outline map which contains no names. The teacher 
finally tests the class by pointing to the places on this map 
while the pupils write the names. This makes for exact 
memorizing after a few such lessons. 

As we all know, modern methods require but little rote 
memorizing in connection with history and geography; 
more and more we are striving to replace this with associa¬ 
tive memorizing. This subject has been so fully discussed 
that little more need be said. 

We call the children’s attention to the relation of organ¬ 
ization of data to retention and recall. As often as seems 
necessary, we remind them that facts properly classified, 
worked into some logical system of cause and effect, of rela¬ 
tive importance, of comparison or contrast, are more easily 
remembered than isolated facts “ hammered in” ever so 
hard. 

We emphasize the importance of memorizing principles 
and pivotal events rather than endless details. A favorite 
expression of one teacher is, “ Don’t make junk shops of 
your minds. Try to have them work shops, in which the 
tools and materials are pigeonholed and labeled so that 
they can be found and used when wanted.” 

Another expression is, “I shall not expect you to know all 
the details of that lesson a month from now, but you ought 
to know them pretty well to-morrow.” 


122 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

When the children first hear this, they are sure to say, 
“ What is the use of learning it at all if we are going to for¬ 
get it again so soon?” 

Some child may call attention to the fact that his parents 
and their friends seem to have forgotten much of what they 
studied at school. This serves as a good introduction to a 
discussion of what James calls the “unconscious and un- 
reproducible part of our acquisitions.” In simple words we 
can give the children the substance of James’ exposition of 
this subject in Talks to Teachers : 16 

Professor Ebbinghaus’s experiments (into the rate of forgetting) 
show that things which we are quite unable definitely to recall have 
nevertheless impressed themselves, in some way, upon the structure 
of the mind. We are different for having once learned them. . . . 
It is but a small part of our experience in life that we are ever able 
articulately to recall, and yet the whole of it has had its influence in 
shaping our character and defining our tendencies to judge and act. 
Although the ready memory is a great blessing to its possessor, the 
vaguer meaning of a subject, of having once had to do with it, of its 
neighborhood, and, of where we may go to recover it again, con¬ 
stitutes in most men and women the chief fruit of their education. 
This is true even in professional education. The doctor, the lawyer, 
are seldom able to decide upon a case off-hand. They differ from other 
men only through the fact that they know how to get at the material 
for decision in five minutes or half an hour; whereas the layman is un¬ 
able to get at the material at all, not knowing in what books and in¬ 
dexes to look, or not understanding the technical terms. 

The fact that knowledge which is quickly forgotten may 
be valuable as a stepping-stone to the understanding of 
important points should be impressed upon the children. 
A realization of the value of this unreproducible knowledge 
may be a great comfort to children who work earnestly yet 
always “cut a poor figure” when exact reproduction is re- 
16 James, William, Talks to Teachers , pp. 141-142. Henry Holt & Co., 1901. 


TEACHING ECONOMICAL USE OF MEMORY 123 


quired. We teachers should be on our guard against the 
tendency to estimate the value of our work by the definitely 
reproduced results, and to value too highly the “glib and 
ready reproducer.” What James has to say on this sub¬ 
ject might well be read and reread by every teacher at 
frequent intervals until it has sunk so deep into our con¬ 
sciousness that we cease everlastingly trying to dig knowl¬ 
edge up by the roots to see whether it is sprouting: 

Be patient, then, and sympathetic with the type of mind that cuts 
a poor figure in examinations. It may, in the long examination which 
life sets us, come out in the end in better shape than the glib and ready 
reproducer, its passions being deeper, its purposes more worthy, its 
combining power less commonplace, and its total mental output 
consequently more important. 17 

Children who have assimilated the lessons reported in this 
chapter are somewhat fortified against the temptation to 
depend upon rote memory in preparing their daily lessons, 
and to cram for examinations. However, it seems de¬ 
sirable, from time to time, explicitly to point out to them 
the harm resulting from the habit; to remind them that 
any effort to “hammer in” facts gives no time for making 
associations; that facts so learned are almost sure to be 
forgotten in a short time, not having been woven together 
with other facts into a logical system. 

But counsel is not enough. Unconsciously a teacher 
may defeat her purpose: 

How children study in preparation for the recitation depends upon 
how the recitation itself is conducted, upon what is first called for 
there and what is most emphasized. ... If the children find that 
the teacher’s questions usually begin with what, or where, or when, 
thereby merely calling for direct reproduction of the substance of the 
text, she may talk ever so much about right methods of study, but 
they will memorize before thinking and without thinking. 

17 Ibid., pp. 142-143. 


124 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Very many of the questions should test not so much knowledge 
of the text as the pupil’s way of treating the text. The spirit of 
the teacher’s usual general question should be, How have you 
associated or related these facts? 18 

There is not space to quote the two pages devoted to 
detailed suggestions along this line. Those who have not 
read the book recently will find inspiration in rereading it, 
for it is easy to fall into the habit of asking the what-where- 
when type of questions. Why and how are safer words, and 
yet children can memorize lists of reasons without under¬ 
standing them. 

We feel that emphasis placed upon the organization of 
data is one powerful influence against the inclination to 
“gulp down facts, hold them undigested for a few hours, 
and then disgorge them.” 19 

In assigning a lesson, the teacher frequently asks for sug¬ 
gestions from the children as to the best method of study¬ 
ing this particular lesson so that the meaning will be clear. 
Often written evidence of some form of organization is 
required, notes, outlines, questions, etc. In addition, the 
children are accustomed to being asked to give such evi¬ 
dences during recitations. One or two illustrations will 
suffice. 

After a group had studied the Articles of Confedera¬ 
tion, they were asked one day to test themselves on their 
knowledge of the subject. The teacher’s instructions were 
somewhat as follows: 

“You will have only twenty minutes. I want to see the papers, in 
order that I may be able to help any of you who did not study wisely, 
so you will need to make them full enough for me to understand. 
Naturally you cannot put in all the details you have read. You will 

18 McMurry, Frank M., How to Study and Teaching How to Study, p. 188. 
Houghton Mifflin Co., 1909. 

19 Ibid., p. 186. 


TEACHING ECONOMICAL USE OF MEMORY 125 


have to judge as to what is important enough to be included in such 
a test.” 

The topic “The Constitution in the Hands of the People” 
had been read up in several books. At the beginning of 
the recitation period devoted to discussing the topic, the 
children were asked to write a paragraph giving their im¬ 
pressions, based upon their reading, of the way the mass 
of the people felt about the Constitution when they first 
read it. 

Sometimes a lesson is assigned without any statement 
of its aim, or discussion of methods of study. In that case 
the recitation period may be devoted to a discussion of the 
methods employed by different children, and a comparison 
of results. 

Again, if a child’s contribution to a class discussion shows 
that he does not understand the subject, it may be well to 
ask him how he studied the lesson. If his method was poor, 
he may profit by hearing others describe better methods. 
If, however, we would be sure that children will not fall 
back upon mechanical memorizing, we must see to it that 
the work is interesting and the atmosphere of the class¬ 
room is happy and free. Responsibility for interest in the 
work should not rest solely upon the teacher. As was 
pointed out on page 118, children can learn to “work up an 
interest” in topics which do not at first seem attractive, 
and pupils in upper elementary grades should be expected 
to develop this power. Mental flabbiness results if chil¬ 
dren never have to exert themselves in this way. However, 
the teacher cannot shift her responsibility. Hers is the 
major share. She must see to it that the matter under con¬ 
sideration is worth discussing and is presented in an in¬ 
teresting manner. And for the atmosphere of the class- 


.126 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

room the responsibility is almost solely hers. A caustic, 
sarcastic manner, or a weary mechanical tone will kill 
interest and initiative, and minimize all efforts to instill 
proper habits of study: 

My grandmother sent me to school, but I looked at the master, 
and saw that he was a smooth round ferule, or an improper noun, or 
a vulgar fraction, and refused to obey him. Or he was a piece of 
string, a rag, a willow wand, and I had contemptuous pity. But one 
was a well of cool, deep water, and looking in suddenly one day, I saw 
the stars. That one gave me all my schooling. 20 

20 Curtis, George William, Prue and I. 


CHAPTER VI 


MAKING IDEAS FUNCTION 

We have considered in the preceding chapters certain 
stages in the process of learning, a clear comprehension of 
the aim of the lesson, intelligent methods of collecting and 
organizing data and of memorizing the points which should 
be permanently retained by the student. But it may be 
that the process is not yet complete. We must have proof 
that the ideas have been assimilated, have become a part of 
the mental structure of the student, have furnished “ spirit¬ 
ual nourishment.” The ability to use them furnishes such 
proof. The term use is not here considered in a narrow 
utilitarian sense. Ideas are used profitably not only in 
earning a living, but in making life full and joyous, in per¬ 
forming the duties of citizenship; in accomplishing any 
worth-while purpose whatsoever. 

In theory we accept this idea of the purpose and test of 
education, in practice, many of us ignore them. Examina¬ 
tions, overlarge classes, the complexities and rigid regula¬ 
tions of great school systems—how can teachers create the 
serene atmosphere, how can they give the time necessary 
for the conversion of facts into “spiritual nourishment”? 
Under existing conditions, many teachers cannot perform 
this miracle, while some of us, more fortunately circum¬ 
stanced, often lose sight of the goal, and thoughtlessly 
place emphasis on the storing of facts, rather than on the 
development of power. 


127 


128 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

However, some of us sometimes remember our ideal. 
Perhaps some of the ways in which we have tried to train 
children to make use of the information they gain, the 
skills they have acquired, may prove helpful to others not 
so free to experiment. Our ultimate aim, of course, is the 
establishment in the student of a habit of mind, a determi¬ 
nation to absorb real nourishment from the subjects studied, 
an automatic testing of the degree of assimilation. But 
this is no mushroom growth. It is hard to fix habits firmly. 
We must try to make children realize that they are study¬ 
ing, not to please teachers or parents, not to accumulate 
stores of facts, but to gain greater power to understand life, 
and to live efficiently. Therefore, they must be trained to 
ask themselves continually: Can I prove that I understand 
that statement? Can I make this rule work? Can I give 
an illustration? What do I know that might explain that 
fact? What would be the result of such an action? If 
teachers and pupils are constantly asking such questions 
during the years spent in the elementary grades, a fair 
start should be made. 

The degree of assimilation achieved in subjects which in¬ 
volve the use of material and actual tools can be gauged 
with comparative ease. The box made in the shop will 
not close. Something is wrong. Either the pupil did not 
understand the method, or worked carelessly. The test is 
tangible, unavoidable. Teacher and pupil face it together. 
So it is with music, art, science. So also with mechanical 
subject matter such as the multiplication table, the child 
can use the tool or he cannot, there is nothing subtle or 
elusive about it. 

It is not so easy to test the degree of assimilation in 
subjects like literature, history, civics. “The test of lan¬ 
guage is translation and reading; the test of mathematics, 


MAKING IDEAS FUNCTION 


129 


solving problems; the test of literature, not so much de¬ 
tailed historical knowledge as appreciation of the best and 
the ability to judge or criticize a piece of literature.” 1 In 
such testing, the child needs constant guidance. Again and 
again “he does not know when he does not know,” and 
it is our business to help him to see his deficiency and cor¬ 
rect it. 

The use of ideas is not deferred entirely until all other 
“steps” have been taken. Hall-Quest considers the applica¬ 
tion of ideas under two headings, “Doing as a Process of 
Learning,” and “Doing as a Test of Learning.” 2 Appro¬ 
priating these captions, combining them with one embody¬ 
ing the purpose of education, and making certain subdivi¬ 
sions, we arrive at an outline which helps us to check up our 
practice and assure ourselves that we are not neglecting 
any of the “Doings.” 

I. Doing as a Process of Learning 

A. Repetition for the sake of retention 

B. Knowledge applied to new situations 

II. Doing as a Test of Learning 

III. Doing as the Goal of Learning 

In the instances of the use of ideas given below, there will 
be no attempt at a hard and fast classification. Indeed, 
there cannot be such a separation since a project may serve 
more than one end; for example, it may at the same time 
test knowledge and possess practical social value, as does 
much of the dramatization undertaken by the children; 
testing the understanding of the characters portrayed and 
furnishing entertainment to other pupils. 

1 Hall-Quest, Alfred L., Supervised Study , pp. 219-220. The Macmillan 
Co., 1923. 

2 Ibid., pp. 218-219. 


130 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


I. DOING AS A PROCESS OF LEARNING 
A. Repetition for the Sake of Retention 

Under certain carefully controlled conditions, practice 
does tend toward perfection. The words repeated, the 
act performed thoughtfully with intelligent purpose many 
times becomes more and more automatic. If the letters of 
a word are consciously said and looked at, the writing of 
the word several times will impress its spelling. Rhythm 
and auditory and visual imagery impress the multiplication 
table, lines of poetry, facts in history, or geography. Hence 
drill is not to be abandoned. The difficulty is that children 
so readily automatize the drill and while saying or writing 
the words of the text, set their minds scot free for more im¬ 
portant thoughts on baseball or adventure stories. Hence, 
“ Doing as a Process of Learning ” must often involve 
a rearrangement or statement of the facts which will insure 
close attention, and under this head we may include not 
only drill repetition but the preparing of papers on sub¬ 
jects previously studied. Such an exercise serves to clarify 
thought, to increase the number of associations, and so to 
elaborate and deepen the impressions and make them more 
permanent. We are thinking not alone of mere reproduc¬ 
tion but of reorganization of familiar material, etc. 

The ability to reorganize presupposes a fair degree of un¬ 
derstanding ; therefore, the exercise is also a test of assimila¬ 
tion. It may be in addition a goal, as when the finished 
product is used to instruct or entertain others. 

For instance, on one occasion, while a group was hearing 
the story of Balboa read by the teacher, one member of the 
class was absent. For his benefit the story was reproduced 
in writing. These papers served the purpose of reviewing 


MAKING IDEAS FUNCTION 


131 


and testing as well as the practical purpose of giving the 
information to the absentee. 

The children were encouraged to consult other sources be¬ 
fore beginning to write, and to make outlines as frame¬ 
works for the organization of the material gathered from 
the different sources. Those children who had most thor¬ 
oughly assimilated the information produced the most 
original papers in arrangement and phraseology. 

I. DOING AS A PROCESS OF LEARNING 
B. Knowledge Applied to New Situations 

Not only are exact repetition and mere reproduction not 
to be relied upon, but reorganization of the same material 
is not enough. Whenever we attempt to illustrate “ repeti¬ 
tion for the sake of retention” we find it merging into an 
instance of “knowledge applied to new situations.” It is 
because learning demands that thought be concentrated 
upon the facts to be learned that fresh applications of these 
facts insure their acquisition better than mere repetition. 
The new situation, for the very reason that it is not habitual 
and automatic, secures the attention requisite for impress¬ 
ing the facts. 

Arithmetic Problems of Vital Content 

Perhaps in no other school subject is it so difficult to 
maintain a satisfactory procedure in this respect, to avoid 
the isolation which greatly reduces the effectiveness of the 
hours spent on mechanical drill, as in arithmetic. It is quite 
impossible to secure all practice by means of problems which 
are of vital interest to children and which originate with 
them. It is possible, however, to avoid harboring in our 
minds or instilling into the children the attitude that prob- 


132 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

lems are just made up as good practice, the answers being 
of no significance to anyone after they are found. The 
task devolving upon the teacher of constructing and arrang¬ 
ing problems which shall afford adequate application of 
principles, at just the time needed, by means of situations 
such as will confront the child in life, which shall indeed 
prove an introduction to life in its quantitative aspect, is a 
heavy one indeed. 3 

But it is not only the content of the problem that is im¬ 
portant. It is quite possible to present long lists of drill 
problems, the subject matter of which is of vital importance, 
but the form of statement so similar that there is no need 
of selection from past information to meet the new con¬ 
ditions. All can be solved by one rote method, and the 
subject matter fades out of sight. Such procedure affords 
little training in thought. 

In so far as possible, every problem should be an exercise 
in marshaling one’s forces, a selection and assembling of 
abilities acquired in different combination, and a focusing 
of them upon the new situation. This selection and appli¬ 
cation do not just go off of themselves. Recognition of the 
necessity for such procedure has to be definitely developed. 
Children will sit down before a new problem, all the ele¬ 
ments of which are familiar to them, and declare that they 
cannot do it because they “ never had that kind yet.” They 
have to be encouraged and even compelled to examine the 
conditions and discover what there is in their storehouse of 
previously gathered data which can be organized anew for a 
solution. Frequently it is desirable to have some elements 
omitted in order that the children may recognize the need 

3 For aid in it, consult Thorndike, Edward L., Psychology of Arithmetic , 
The Macmillan Co., 1926; Schorling and Clark, Modern Mathematics- 
Seventh School Year , World Book Co., 1926; and McMurry & Benson, 
Social Arithmetic , Macmillan, 1927. 


MAKING IDEAS FUNCTION 


133 


of supplementing the data before beginning to calculate. 
For example, the geography textbook states that the pop¬ 
ulation of Manhattan is the densest in the world. How 
does it compare with that of London or Chicago? Here 
area and population must be looked up before solution can 
proceed. 

A Fifth or Sixth Grade may have had considerable prac¬ 
tice with the area of rectangles in real situations, diagrams, 
etc., and still see nothing out of the way in the following: 

“This elevator is too small. It ought to be twice as big.” 

“You mean twice as long and twice as wide?” 

“Yes.” 

“It holds about 35 of us now. How many would it hold then?” 

“Why 70 of course. That’s a second grade problem.” 

On another occasion a child in the elevator remarked that 
the operator must ride a great many miles in a day, 

“What would we have to know to find out how many?” 

It seemed obvious that the operator would have to be 
asked to keep some record of the number of trips made, 
full and partial, and this he agreed to do. 

Certain children, probably with recollection of past 
omissions, asserted: 

“It would have to be reduced to miles.” 

“But what would have to be reduced to miles?” 

“Why, the height of the building.” 

“How is the height of the building to be obtained?” 

“Look at the plans.” (These had been loaned somewhere outside 
and were not available.) 

“Ask the architect.” (He was in Europe.) 

“Measure it.” 

Which several children did from floor to ceiling on each 
floor, with allowance for the thickness of the floor. 


134 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

About this time one child had learned from an older 
brother that in the Seventh Grade book there was a descrip¬ 
tion of getting the heights of unapproachable objects by 
triangulation. A series of lessons followed dealing with 
this new topic which combined many familiar principles. 

The geography teacher might explain with utmost 
thoroughness the “ scale of miles” 4 line on a map, and 
children might do much scale drawing and still not have it 
occur to them to use this scale line as an instrument to 
determine a desired distance. It is the idea of the applica¬ 
tion of known data to new situations which has to be de¬ 
liberately taught as a conscious method of study. 

In one Sixth Grade, this and other ends were attained 
by means of a series of parcel post and express problems. 
The children were going to send a package of Christmas 
cards to a southern school for less fortunate children and a 
large box of used clothing to a relief station at a shorter 
distance. How were these to be sent? 

Printed lists of mailing rates and zones and the schedule 
of express rates were obtained. The geography books were 
opened to a large map of the United States. As the result 
of suggestions from teacher and pupils, long strips of paper 
were prepared and upon them were marked off again and 
again the scale of miles from the bottom of the map. These 
strips were then directed from New York to any desired 
spot in the country. The distance thus obtained, and the 
zone looked up, it was found necessary to weigh both 
boxes. After this, the cost of transportation both by ex¬ 
press and freight was calculated, and the class was in a 
position to decide intelligently the better means to select. 

Great delight was shown in these lessons. For days the 


4 P. 224. 


MAKING IDEAS FUNCTION 


135 


children brought in questions regarding personal Christ¬ 
mas parcels to friends in various parts of the country and 
many were made up just for fun. The motivation of this 
exercise had been a practical and immediate need. Certain 
facts were learned regarding parcel post and express. 
There was some drill in computation. Map scales became 
real tools. But the essential value of the experience was a 
certain familiarity with the selection from a mass of accu¬ 
mulated data of just those portions which could be made 
to fit a given situation. 

After a certain Seventh Grade had studied about the 
rainfall in various sections of the country and had learned 
to read a real rain gauge and to construct more primitive 
substitutes, someone suggested the computation of the 
amount of water fallen upon the school roof in a certain 
rainstorm. Area, volume, reduction of cubic inches to 
gallons,—all made their contribution to this solution. 

Graphs 

The graph has come into such common use for clarity 
and brevity of illustration in lectures, magazines, and books, 
even in many an advertisement and prospectus, that chil¬ 
dren must be given a clear understanding of the principles 
of graphical representation if they are to be prepared to 
make use of the source material about them. In common 
with many other schools, we have instructed our Sixth and 
Seventh Grades for several years in the making of the more 
common forms of graphs, the methods developing out of 
the experience and investigation of the teachers. The 
recent Schorling and Clark text has made the whole matter 
much more comprehensive. The subject has advanced 
beyond the instruction stage where the class makes a graph 


136 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


of a certain type as assigned for a given topic. Long lists 
of possible graph subjects are posted from which the chil¬ 
dren choose, deciding for themselves which form of graph 
will best serve the purpose of representation. Entirely 
free choice of subjects at first often leads into useless chan¬ 
nels. Such a posted list might include the following: 

Average length of life today in the United States compared with 
other countries. 

Increased length of human life by centuries. 

Average daily number of sick persons per 1000 in India, Spain, 
United States, and New Zealand. 

Depth of the Catskill aqueduct under the Hudson compared with 
the Woolworth Building. 

Aeroplane ascensions compared with mountain altitudes. 

Growth in population of U. S. A. from 1790 to 1920. 

Growth in population of New York City, 1790 to 1920. 

Length of ships from the British coracle to the “ Majestic.” 

Available timber supply of the United States by regions. 

We had not realized, however, how fully the graph had be¬ 
come an integral part of the children’s equipment until 
they began asking for permission to make graphs in their 
“ special topics,” explaining that in no other way could they 
make certain points as clear. 5 Out of the twenty children 
in one Seventh Grade, seven used the graph in this way at 
their own suggestion, the subjects thus illustrated being: 

Illiteracy Outside the United States 

Railway Mileage of the World 

Causes for Child Labor 

Distribution of Acres for Schools 

Ownership of the World’s Ocean Cables 

Ownership of the World’s Telephones 

Child Labor 

6 See chapter on “Organization of Data,” pp. 86-106. 


MAKING IDEAS FUNCTION 


137 


Outlines 

When children have learned in connection with one body 
of subject matter, say history, to make outlines, they are 
pleased to use this new tool in working with other material. 
After one Seventh Grade had read The Great Stone Face , 
they were told to prepare to give a summary of the story 
for the benefit of one who had been absent during the read¬ 
ing. The teacher suggested that each child make notes in 
the form of an outline to be used as a guide in giving the 
summary. She graded the notes, arranging them in three 
groups—excellent, average, and poor. She then selected 
one paper from each group. The next day she sent out of 
the room the writers of the three papers, giving them some 
special work to do. They did not know what was to take 
place in the classroom, and being fully occupied, had little 
time to wonder. One at a time each was called in to give 
the summary. The class then passed judgment on the 
summaries. They were greatly interested when they found 
that they had graded the summaries exactly as the teacher 
had graded the outlines. The experience gave them a 
greater respect for the outline as a useful tool. 

The proof of the mastery of a tool comes when children 
use it voluntarily and as a matter of course, as in the lesson 
on the study of the Plateau States already cited in the 
chapter on “ Stimulating the Questioning Attitude of 
Mind.” 6 The children were to study from their geogra¬ 
phies with two questions in mind. 1. “Why are there so 
few people there?” 2. “What are the occupations of the 
sparse population?” The answers were to be in writing. 
Many of the class, without suggestion from the teacher. 


6 P. 16. 


138 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

organized this data in outline form, this being the new tool 
just acquired in connection with their history work. 

II. DOING AS A TEST OF LEARNING 

Examinations have been relied upon from time immemo¬ 
rial as tests of assimilation, but within a few years there has 
been a very marked change in the character of examina¬ 
tions. Less and less are they devised merely to reveal a 
pupil’s knowledge of facts, and more and more to test his 
“ability to handle material in a practical and even original 
manner.” 7 

The recitation period is frequently devoted to testing the 
knowledge acquired in a previous study period. Children 
quickly learn what kind of questions they are to expect from 
a particular teacher and prepare their lessons accordingly. 
Where question after question simply tests knowledge of 
facts, children will study facts without taking the trouble 
to see whether they understand and can use them. If, on 
the other hand, they know that the teacher will expect 
them to be able to discuss situations, to give reasons which 
they understand and have not simply memorized from a 
list in the book, to ferret out causes, and to apply their 
knowledge to new situations, they will be mindful of these 
things while studying and will realize that their study is 
not completed until they can use the ideas gleaned from the 
assignment. 

In such a recitation, the teacher must not take too prom¬ 
inent a part. Children must feel free to discuss with one 
another, not waiting always for a question or comment 
from the teacher. They may simply “get the floor ” from 
the teacher who presides over the meeting. Such a recita¬ 
tion period is described by Dr. Dewey as follows: 

7 Hall-Quest, Alfred L., Supervised Study , p. 219. The Macmillan Co., 1923. 


MAKING IDEAS FUNCTION 139 

The recitation becomes a social meeting place; it is to the school 
what the spontaneous conversation is at home, except that it is more 
organized, following definite lines. The recitation becomes the social 
clearing house, where experiences and ideas are exchanged and sub¬ 
jected to criticism, where misconceptions are corrected, and new 
lines of thought and inquiry are set up. 8 

Standard Tests 

A type of examination unknown twenty years ago and 
now found in every progressive school system is the Stand¬ 
ard Test. 9 When this new instrument was suddenly thrust 
into our hands many of us regarded it with suspicion, for 
the very reasons suggested in the preceding paragraphs. 
The emphasis being placed by these tests entirely upon for¬ 
mal processes, both teacher and pupil would be led thereby 
to lay prime importance upon those processes, while the 
purpose for which they were acquired would be forgotten. 

We now realize that so to argue is to misconceive the 
entire Test Movement. A large part of children’s time must 
be given to the acquisition of tools,—yes, but how large a 
part? Is there no limit? Shall acquired skill be but an 
introduction to more skill? Or is there a degree of perfec¬ 
tion which is enough for practical purposes at a given age? 

It is the affirmative answer to the last question and the 
means afforded for determining the requisite degree of 
attainment which is setting many children free from rou¬ 
tine drill on formal processes and affording them the oppor¬ 
tunity for handwork, art projects, research in social studies, 
and the like. 

There is nothing either good or bad in a tool itself. Pro- 

8 Dewey, John, School and Society , p. 65. University of Chicago Press, 1899. 

9 Monroe, DeVoss, and Kelly, Educational Tests and Measurements. 

Houghton Mifflin Co., 1924. 

McCall, W. A., How to Measure in Education. The Macmillan Co., 1922. 

Freeman, Frank M., Mental Tests. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1926. 


140 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


ficiency in reading may be employed to gather inspiration 
and wisdom from the world’s best literature or to read 
“yellow journals.” Facile penmanship may contribute to 
a literary masterpiece or to forgery. Arithmetical accuracy 
is the tool of the statistician and scientist, or of the clever 
crook. The use which our pupils make of the tools we give 
them depends upon many things, our own moral influence 
and example most of all. But it is essential that a certain 
proficiency in their use should be attained. If a given class 
does not measure up to standard in any of the processes, 
greater attention is demanded for that process. 

On the other hand there is tremendous security and 
relief in the demonstration that one’s pupils rank well by 
standards obtained from children of the same age widely 
distributed. If a child’s speed and accuracy in the measur¬ 
able, formal process subjects equal or surpass that attained 
by 50% or 75% of children of his age, then he may safely 
cease to strive for the speed of a lightning calculator or for a 
minute detail of factual knowledge beyond the practical, 
and devote himself to the vital applications of these tools. 

Furthermore, there is great value in the objectivity of 
these tests. An examination set by the teacher of a class 
will of necessity be graded subjectively; that is, her opinions 
will determine her estimate of correct or incorrect. This has 
its own advantage while she is trying to direct the class in 
certain trends of thought. The standard test, on the other 
hand, marked by a key, is absolutely impersonal and ob¬ 
jective, thus affording far safer criteria for the evaluation of 
exact, definite processes. 

Weather Forecasting 

A very interesting and valuable exercise in testing ac¬ 
quired knowledge is afforded by weather predictions. 


MAKING IDEAS FUNCTION 


141 


These have been used in the Seventh Grade. First the 
barometer is explained and demonstrated and reading it 
becomes a familiar experience. Then the government 
weather maps are introduced and forecasting explained. 
These maps are posted daily by a committee which 
arranges them carefully so that when a storm is in 
progress its advance across the United States can be 
traced. 

After this, as a test of their understanding of “ highs ” and 
“lows,” the children try forecasting from the data available 
to the weather man. A set of weather maps in series of 
three or more successive days is handed to each child. The 
forecast printed at the bottom is cut off and retained by the 
teacher. The job is to lay out the maps, observe the prog¬ 
ress and direction of the “highs” and “lows” and their 
rate of speed, and then judge what the weather condition 
would be in New York twenty-four hours later, just as the 
weather man had done. They work in pairs, discuss their 
problem, make their decision, write their forecast and 
check it by the official prediction. Usually no record has 
been kept as to whether the official forecast had been cor¬ 
rect, but they know that it is right in a large proportion 
of the cases and, accepting it as the criterion, eagerly rush 
to the teacher’s desk and compare their results with it. 
Then they take another series of maps and so make their 
forecasts again and again. 

Sometimes a committee volunteers to keep a weather 
record and try real forecasting. Using the weather map and 
taking daily barometer readings they make their forecast 
and, comparing it with that in the daily papers, watch 
anxiously to see which is correct. They prove sometimes 
correct and sometimes not. Since the weather map does 
not reach them until twenty-four hours later everybody 


142 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


recognizes that they do not have adequate information. 
The greatest benefit from this experience is practical demon¬ 
stration of the fact that correct judgments depend upon 
correct and complete data. 

Sand Table Demonstrations 

A geography class had read about the injury to the 
country which results from cutting down the forests. There 
had been considerable discussion. “Do you suppose,” 
said the teacher, “that you could prove to me that you 
understand this by working out the principle on the sand 
table?” Several very glib talkers looked quite mystified. 
A small group thought that they could, and they worked 
at the project for several days. When completed the dem¬ 
onstration was considered a great success. There were 
two hillsides with a small sloping valley between. One 
hill was covered thickly with excelsior to simulate forests, 
the other was bare. Two pails of water were pro¬ 
vided. One child poured all the water from one pail, 

a pitcherful at a time, into a funnel stuck into the 

tube end of a bath spray. Other children moved 
the spray back and forth over the forest-covered hill 
until the pail was empty. The water soaked into the 

sands of the hill and very little ran down into the 

valley. 

Then the other pailful was sprayed in the same manner 
over the denuded hillside. Very little soaked in, the valley 
was soon flooded, and the miniature hill practically all 
washed away. 

Dramatization 

The children’s natural love of dramatizing is utilized in 
many ways, perhaps most often as a goal to entertain other 


MAKING IDEAS FUNCTION 


143 


classes. 10 If it is used as a test of the appreciation of a liter¬ 
ary unit, as it not infrequently is, the children must be set 
free to work out their own plans. The resulting produc¬ 
tion may be cruder than if they were carefully supervised, 
but the value to the children will be greater where such 
freedom is given. Sometimes real talent is discovered under 
these circumstances, which had never been suspected by the 
teachers. 

A certain Seventh Grade wanted to “ give a play.” They 
had no particular play in mind. There was surplus energy 
demanding an outlet. They wanted to do it “ all ourselves.” 
A committee was put in charge, one member appointed by 
the teacher, two elected by the class. 

A number of plays were read and rejected by the com¬ 
mittee. Finally they chose Rip Van Winkle as played by 
Joe Jefferson. (They had been reading Irving’s story in 
literature class.) They cut the text to a suitable length, 
typed the parts and “ tried out” for characters. 

When the principal actors had been selected, they were 
left with the committee to rehearse alone, while the rest of 
the class had regular literature lessons with the teacher. 
Whenever these children were needed to take the parts of 
villagers in rehearsals, they were released. The teacher 
looked in upon a rehearsal occasionally, but gave no advice 
unless it was asked, which was not often. 

The committee’s choice for Rip was a complete surprise 
to the teachers, a serious lad, one often appointed to fill 
important positions in the class government. His imper¬ 
sonation of Rip was altogether charming, showing a 
thorough understanding of a nature quite different from 

10 Consult Chubb, Percival, & His Associates, Festivals and Plays in School 
and Elsewhere. Harper Brothers, 1912. Mr. Chubb was at one time head 
of the festival work in the Ethical Culture School, New York City. 


144 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

his own. The committee’s choice showed, on their part, 
an appreciation of the secret of this boy’s power as a 
leader, his innate sympathetic understanding of human 
reactions. The harassed wife, the sweet young daughter— 
indeed almost all of the characters—were well chosen. 

The rehearsals proceeded, not without friction and un¬ 
necessary delays. Several times the manager forgot to 
notify the teacher that a rehearsal was desired. The 
teacher, having planned other work for the period, could 
not allow the rehearsal to take place. Finally a new mana¬ 
ger was chosen, and the work proceeded more smoothly. 

There were a number of practical difficulties to be over¬ 
come. There is no stage. The furniture and walls of the 
classrooms being all moveable, so that classroom space 
can, at a moment’s notice, be converted into playground, 
it is difficult to manage stage properties and costumes, and 
these must be reduced to a minimum. When a play is in 
progress, the action takes place in a space set off by the 
large screens which during school periods form the back 
wall of classrooms. The teacher’s desk may be a table, a 
fireplace, a cupboard. Homemade contrivances of one 
kind or another complete the scenery. 

In this instance, a group of boys made a window frame 
which, set on a chair and held securely between two screens, 
was very effective. Through this Rip entered, surprising 
Gretchen in the midst of her revilings against his character. 

One boy arranged electric apparatus in such a way that 
very realistic lightning was flashed, whilst thunder pealed 
from behind the scenes, as a classmate beat upon an empty 
keg. 

Very few of the actors were in full costume, some one 
symbolic article sufficing in most instances. The dwarfs 
wore peaked hats with drooping plumes. One boy devised 


MAKING IDEAS FUNCTION 


145 


and made wire frames for all the hats. The girls asked to 
be allowed to cover these frames under the supervision of 
the sewing teacher and she gave them class time to carry 
out the project. 

Some of the village men smoked pipes, made by one of the 
boys. The bowls were sections cut from large dowels, the 
stems, pieces of smaller dowels. A white cap and apron 
was adequate symbolism for a village matron. Rip, Gret- 
chen, Meenie, and Hendrick were more fully costumed. 

When the teacher felt that the rehearsing had reached 
the stage of “ diminishing returns, 5 ' she suggested that it 
might be well for her to attend a full rehearsal. The chil¬ 
dren welcomed the suggestion. They were not satisfied 
with the way things were going, but as someone said “The 
oftener we rehearse the worse it gets, and we all get to 
squabbling. 55 With the teacher present, the rehearsal 
went more smoothly. She suggested a few changes. Once 
more they rehearsed alone, once more before the teacher, 
and then gave this play to the other classes in the Depart¬ 
ment. It was an extremely interesting performance. Much 
of the acting was excellent, and the stage setting and the 
costumes produced a more artistic whole than might be 
supposed from the foregoing account. 

III. DOING AS THE GOAL OF LEARNING 

Knowledge which the children spontaneously apply to 
practical situations and knowledge which gives the pupil 
so much pleasure that he wishes to use it to give pleasure 
to others has reached the stage of “spiritual nourishment. 55 
The child who, after a literature lesson, asks to borrow the 
book of poems from which the teacher has been reading, 
and comes the next morning prepared to recite a poem to 
the class is making a truly social use of his knowledge. 


146 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


An even greater degree of assimilation is shown in the 
cases of children, inspired by poems read to the class to 
write poems of their own and bring them to be shared by 
their classmates and teacher. Two such spontaneous out¬ 
pourings are given below. The first, written by a Seventh 
Grade girl, was suggested by Burges Johnson’s “GouT 
Barefoot,” 11 which ends with the couplet, 

An’ I’m surely goin’ barefoot every day when I get old 
An’ haven’t got a nurse to say I’ll catch my dethocoldl 

MY DETHOCOLD 

When I wuz a lil kid 
Not more’n four years old 
My nurse, she uster tell me 
I’d ketch m’dethocold. 

I hunted high and low fer him, 

I haven’t found him yet, 

But when I do—right in the night 
I’ll kill him dead—you bet. 

The second poem followed the reading of two sunrise 
poems, “ Dawn in the Desert,” 12 and “ Prayer at Sun¬ 
rise.” 13 This also is the work of a Seventh Grade pupil: 

A PICTURE 

As the thin grey mist of the early morning 
Rose over the lake 
And the soft flush of the dawn 
Appeared in the eastern sky, 

An Indian canoe glided by, 

In it an Indian brave, intent upon his hunting. 

11 Johnson, Burges, Rhymes of Little Boys, p. 8. Woman’s Home Com¬ 
panion, Crowell Publishing Co. 

12 Scollard, Clinton, Hills of Song, p. 43. Sherman, French & Co., 1908. 

13 Johnson, James Weldon, Fifty Years, p. 46. Cornhill Publishing Co., 
1921. 


MAKING IDEAS FUNCTION 


147 


Oral Reading 

In this connection another subject conies to mind. At 
this time when so much emphasis is being placed on silent 
reading as more useful to the pupils than oral reading, 
there is danger of overlooking the value of reading aloud 
as a social function. There is much talk nowadays of the 
passing of home life. Entertainment is sought outside of 
the home. The family circle gathered to hear some member 
read the news of the day, or some favorite author is the 
very rare exception. The school may do something toward 
reviving this wholesome custom by encouraging children 
to prepare themselves to read aloud so agreeably that their 
families will like to listen to them. There are many oppor¬ 
tunities for children to read to their classmates material 
which they have chosen and the text of which is not in the 
hands of the others. If under such circumstances the read¬ 
ing is enjoyable, it may be suggested that someone at home 
might care to hear the selection. 

Historic Appreciation 

A very charming illustration of a child’s recognition of 
knowledge as a source of pleasure is furnished by the letter 
given below, which was written by a child to her history 
teacher. Just before school closed, this child had made a 
special study of the Dyckman House, the colonial farm¬ 
house preserved in New York City: 

Dear Miss- 

I am in a little country town in Massachusetts, where we go every 
summer. We came up in our auto, and when we got to Pawling, 
N. Y. (about half way to Lenox) we stopped to have some ice cream 
at a little coffee house. I thought you would be interested in the 
little house because it looked so Colonial. The furniture is in Colonial 
style, (anyway it seems so to me) and it has rafters on the ceiling. 
They have a great big fireplace too, with a baby’s cradle like the one 


148 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

in the Dyckman House. But they have logs in the cradle instead of a 
baby. Then there was a big pair of bellows hanging up in the fire¬ 
place. 

I’ve been in that coffee house many times before this, because we 
always have something to eat there on the way to and from Lenox, 
but I’ve never noticed the oldness before. I think that’s because I 
never had Colonial history. You see how much it helps you notice 
things. 

Ethical Expression the Highest Goal 

Again and again, in one way or another, the children are 
confronted with the idea that study should “ culminate 
in the use of knowledge/’ that “the worth of a man is 
determined by what comes out of him, by the service he 
renders, rather than by what enters in.” 14 Literature, 
geography, history, civics, all furnish illustrations which 
emphasize this point. Most helpful of all is the work in 
ethics. The idea that the highest use of knowledge and 
skill is in social service pervades the lessons. In the Fifth 
Grade, much time is devoted to discussing the lives of 
“ Benefactors of Mankind.” Sometimes after they have 
been told about one such person, perhaps Florence Night¬ 
ingale, Grace Darling, Dr. Grenfell, or Booker Washington, 
they are asked to bring in lists of people of whom they have 
heard who have used their knowledge and skill for the 
benefit of others. Such lists include physicians, nurses, 
ministers, educators, inventors, etc. The range is wide, as a 
few quotations will show: 

“Charlemagne was a benefactor because he built schools to let 
hundreds of children learn each year.” 

“Joan of Arc was a great benefactor because she led the French 
Soldiers to battle.” 

“Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves.” 

14 McMurry, Frank M., How to Study and Teaching How to Study , p. 198. 
Houghton, Mifflin Co., 1909. 


MAKING IDEAS FUNCTION 


149 


“Edison was a benefactor because he made electric lights, tele¬ 
phones, electric irons, electric toasters, and other electric 
appliances.” 

“Mr. Carnegie—-libraries.” 

As we discuss the work of these great people we try to 
see how we, in “little ways,” can do the kind of things they 
did in “big ways.” 

Part of the time in the Sixth Grade is devoted to a study 
of the life of Moses and some of the commandments. Some¬ 
times the story of his life is told rapidly with little discussion 
of the incidents, and then the children are asked to answer 
in writing the question “What incidents in the life of Moses 
do you think we might profitably discuss in the ethics 
class?” They are given to understand that they should 
select parts of the story which will furnish practical sug¬ 
gestions, ideas which we may use in our daily lives. Very 
helpful discussions grow out of the consideration of Moses 
before the Burning Bush, the man inspired by a burning de¬ 
sire to help his people. We look for modern illustrations 
and find ourselves reviewing the lives of some of the “Bene¬ 
factors,” and now think of them as aglow with the spirit 
of helpfulness. We add others, Jane Addams, Lillian Wald, 
Jacob Riis, Mahatma Gandhi, men and women who have 
stood before the Burning Bush, and are led by the “pillar 
of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night” in their 
service of humanity. Especially are we interested in men 
like Roger Williams, and Father Serra, whom we have 
met in our history. The connection is easily made as the 
same person teaches the two subjects. This fortunately is 
true in the Seventh Grade also, and the close connection 
helps to enrich both subjects. 

Something can be done toward making children under- 



150 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

stand that enthusiasm to do good which does not result 
in action is worse than wasted, that if Moses had stood 
before the Burning Bush, and then had failed to lead 
his people out of bondage, he would be unknown or known 
only as a man who had failed signally. And so we come to 
the consideration of our own inspired moments, of plans to 
do fine things, of plans unfulfilled, of promises broken, of 
the fact that only the things that we do count. 

In the Seventh Grade most of the ethics lessons are 
devoted to consideration of various phases of citizenship. 
The connection between history and ethics is especially 
close. The year’s history begins with the “Critical Period.” 
We pass rapidly to the “ Drawing Up of the Constitution ’ 
and the launching of the new government. The citizens’ 
duties and privileges occupy our attention. Meantime, the 
papers are full of the political campaign. The primary 
election takes place, registration days come. Several ethics 
lessons are devoted to considering what a citizen should 
do in order to prepare himself to vote intelligently. The 
ideas are put to practical use in class affairs when officers or 
committees are to be elected. Constantly what we learn 
concerning adult citizenship is applied to “ citizenship in 
the Seventh Grade.” The children come to conceive of 
themselves as already citizens with individual responsibility 
for matters concerning their body politic. 

The Seventh Grade pupil has reached the age when 
he is becoming more and more actively conscious of the 
world about him outside of home and school. He is be¬ 
ginning to realize that he must find a place in that social 
organism. He is curious as to the workings of the social 
units about which he reads in the papers, and which he 
hears discussed by his elders, but does not understand 


MAKING IDEAS FUNCTION 


151 


clearly. He welcomes class discussion of such things, so we 
devote considerable time to current topics. 

The children are encouraged to subscribe to one of several 
current topics leaflets especially prepared for young 
people. 15 At the outset, they are given the idea that mate¬ 
rial selected for discussion should have social value. Some¬ 
times a list of subjects suggested by the pupils is read to 
the class, and a majority vote decides the one considered 
of greatest social value, and therefore most worthy of dis¬ 
cussion. 

The child who selected the following paragraph under¬ 
stood the citizen’s duty to do the disagreeable service for 
the sake of the public welfare: “Do you approve? Ten 
business men were fined Two Hundred and Fifty ($250.00) 
Dollars each because they failed to answer the call to serv¬ 
ice on August grand juries.” 

At the beginning of the Eighth Grade year one class 
was asked to write statements of what ethics meant to them. 
A number of the answers showed that the writers appre¬ 
ciated that the goal of the lesson is action , use of the ideas 
developed during the discussions, as, for instance, “I think 
ethics makes you finer in your ways and doings. Ethics 
to me is the right and wrong of certain things, and it teaches 
us to live up to certain good morals.” 

Such an appreciation of the need to use ideas carries 
over and influences the children more or less in their study¬ 
ing of all subjects. 

Very occasionally there is an opportunity for the children 
to use knowledge gained in school to actually help in some 
large civic project. Such an occasion is a red-letter day. 

is Looseleaf Current Topics , 1123 Broadway, N. Y. C.; News Outline, 
1123 Broadway, N. Y. C.; World News, Munsey Building, Washington, 
D. C.; Weekly News Review, Washington, D. C. 


152 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

One Seventh Grade had the rare privilege of utilizing 
their knowledge of graphs in the interest of a philanthropic 
cause. Their “doing ” was truly “the goal of their learn¬ 
ing.” A member of the National Child Labor Committee 
spoke before the school. The children were inspired with 
a desire to give practical assistance. The office of the Com¬ 
mittee was visited and various possibilities were discussed. 

The committee needed a graphic device to send out with 
their speakers to show the audiences the great percentage of 
illiteracy in the United States as compared with that of the 
leading countries of Europe. “Could the school children 
make some such device for them?” The children were 
delighted with the idea. The committee furnished us with 
the percentages of illiteracy and the class worked out a 
bar graph. The illiteracy bar for the United States needed 
to be 25 feet 11X inches long as compared with Prussia’s 
illiteracy bar of % inch. Clearly it was impractical for a 
traveling speaker to carry a graph of such dimensions! 
So it was decided to make the bars of ribbon which could be 
wrapped around a small chart and unrolled before the 
audience. 

This chart was so effective that the National Child 
Labor Committee asked this grade to make similar charts 
to show the percentages of illiteracy and child labor among 
children from ten to fifteen years in different sections 
of the United States. This graph the committee used in 
the South in its campaign for better child labor legislation. 


CHAPTER VII 


SELF-EXPRESSION THROUGH ENGLISH 
COMPOSITION 

Truth is within ourselves; it takes no rise 
From outward things, . . . 

. . . and to know 

Rather consists in opening out a way 
Whence the imprisoned splendor may escape, 

Than in effecting entry for a light 
Supposed to be without. 

Browning, Paracelsus. 

Since the chief aim of our work in composition is to fur¬ 
nish opportunities for the children to express their own 
thoughts, their individual reactions to matters presented 
to them, it seems as if there might be danger of defeating 
our own ends if we should stress definite methods of pro¬ 
cedure. And indeed we must not demand too strict con¬ 
formity to hard and fast rules or we may kill initiative, dull 
imagination, and cause a dislike for all creative work. How¬ 
ever, there are certain principles which must be followed, 
consciously or unconsciously, in the production of any 
literary creation. It is desirable that by degrees the chil¬ 
dren be made conscious of these principles and trained to 
follow them in their independent work. 

First of all, as in other cases, the children’s interest is 
aroused by giving them specific purposes fitted to their 
mental and emotional capacities and as often as possible 
related to life. The children know that everything of merit 
which they write will be submitted to the class and this 
153 


154 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


insures their greatest effort. Books are reviewed, not to 
please the teacher, but to make the class want to read the 
books; dramatizations and puppet shows are given to the 
class and to other classes; ghost stories and fairy stories 
are written to please their classmates; letters, except one 
kind, noted below, 1 are never written unless they have a 
practical purpose and are to be sent. Thus the children 
are provided with adequate markets for their products. 

In so far as possible the teacher follows the children’s 
lead in the choice of subjects. Whenever the children ex¬ 
press a desire to write on a certain subject, or what is more 
usual, to write a certain type of composition, they are given 
an opportunity to do so; and whenever the teacher proposes 
the subject, she submits it to the class and takes her cue from 
their reactions as to whether it appeals to them or not. 

A subject having been decided upon, the children are 
encouraged to make suggestions which are criticized by 
the class and the teacher. Seldom is less than a forty-min¬ 
ute period used for this preliminary discussion and working 
up of interest. The idea is that the children should be 
saturated with the subject and filled with ideas until they 
are bursting with interest and eager to begin. 

It is evident that during this period not only has an aim 
been made clear, and interest aroused, but also consider¬ 
able data have been gathered with which to work toward the 
accomplishment of the aim. 

The child of marked literary ability, or the child of only 
ordinary ability for the nonce extraordinarily inspired, may 
do his best work if allowed to proceed without further assist¬ 
ance. For the most part, however, children need to be re¬ 
minded to make a definite plan before beginning to write, 
in other words, to organize their data. It may well be that 
1 P. 208. 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION 


155 


the initial lesson did not supply all the data needed. Then 
the child must gather more, either by searching his past 
experience and setting his imagination to work, by read¬ 
ing, experimenting, observing, or by a combination of 
methods. 

When finally the child comes to organize his data, plan 
his story or play or what not, it may be necessary to elab¬ 
orate certain points and eliminate others in order to pro¬ 
duce a well-balanced literary unit. 

Whatever the teacher can do to enable the child even¬ 
tually to thus gather and organize data, and to work them 
up in the best style which he can command, criticizing his 
own work before submitting it to her, may be considered 
teaching him to study. 

We shall not attempt to represent all types of composi¬ 
tion, in logical order, as would be necessary for a discussion 
of the curriculum. Rather we shall tell in considerable 
detail just how certain lessons have been conducted. The 
topics selected fall into three groups. Exercises in which: 

I. Specific data are given. 

A. Reproduction of Historic Events and Geographic 

Situations. 

B. Book Reviews. 

C. Description of Familiar Scenes. 

II. Data are collected by the pupil from various sources and fused 
by him. 

A. Current Topics. 

B. “ Juvenile Theses. ” 

III. Conditions are suggested, data coming largely from pupil’s 
past experience, that is, imaginative writing. 

A. Personification. 

B. Identification. 

Before discussing any illustrations of the different types 
of lessons cited above, it may be well to consider briefly the 


156 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

question of oral composition. The term composition com¬ 
monly connotes only written productions, but this is an 
unfortunately narrow interpretation of the word. 

Many an academically trained adult expresses his 
thoughts and feelings more easily with a pen than with his 
tongue. Such facility is acquired slowly and laboriously, 
however. The chatterbox of eight or ten whose tongue is 
proverbially “loose at both ends,” and who wants to talk 
all the time frequently has little that he wishes to say 
through the medium of cramped fingers, crooked letters, 
and thought-sidetracking spelling. Many a worth while 
childish thought is lost because there is no wise mother like 
Hilda Conkling’s to take it down, leaving the child unbur¬ 
dened by the difficulties of writing. Some children, prolific 
of ideas, fail absolutely in written composition. Often they 
are able to dictate excellent productions to mother, teacher, 
or classmate, and a year or two of such help until the 
mechanical difficulties of writing have been to some extent 
overcome swings them into line among the best in their 
class in written contribution. 

However, the voluble prattling of youngsters requires 
direction. Their colloquial vocabulary is often meager. 
Such words as “thing ” and “fix ” serve as synonyms for a 
surprising number of words. Narratives are repetitious, 
descriptions confused. But the exuberance of spontaneous 
speech affords opportunity for training far beyond that of 
repressed, stiff, written language. 

For these reasons, oral composition is of the utmost im¬ 
portance. Yet it is really startling when one considers the 
scanty opportunity for real oral expression which is afforded 
by schools to each member of a class of twenty-five, or 
thirty, or forty children. Scarcely voiced greetings, mono¬ 
syllabic affirmative or negative answers, brief statements of 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION 


157 


facts or slightly longer contributions to discussions consti¬ 
tute most children’s practice in spoken English during 
school hours. But every few days they are expected to 
write some pages of consecutive discourse with all the me¬ 
chanical difficulties of this highly artificial mode of expres¬ 
sion. Children who have told stories to their classmates 
are thereby trained in many requisites of written stories, 
while descriptions and explanations are more apt to be made 
clear if reflected in the faces of eager, critical listeners than if 
merely committed to paper as cold words. Throughout our 
grades a great many opportunities are given for such exer¬ 
cises in oral expression. A few illustrations are here cited. 

In the early fall, the children are asked to tell of their 
summer experiences, or to describe natural scenes, views 
which they have added to their “mental picture galleries.” 
Animals are an inexhaustible source of interest. True 
stories about them, experiences with them, are always on 
the tongue’s end. 

Often during the early days of the school year, the Sixth 
Grade pupils are asked to practice explaining the rules of 
basketball until they can make the Fifth Grade under¬ 
stand the conditions of the game, for it is seldom that chil¬ 
dren can impart knowledge of even well-known facts to 
other children. These recitations are always carefully pre¬ 
pared in advance, usually in study periods with the teacher 
available to answer individual questions. Sometimes a 
whole period is spent thus. 

I. SPECIFIC DATA GIVEN 

A. Reproduction op Historic Events and 
Geographic Situations 

Of reproduction pure and simple very little is given in 
the English class. In connection with history and geog- 


158 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

raphy, there is more or less demand for restatement of 
facts in the pupil’s own words, as a test of assimilation and 
for the sake of increasing the chances of retention. Most of 
these reviews are given orally. One illustration will suffice. 

A certain Fifth Grade had been learning about the in¬ 
vention of printing and had constructed a press on the 
Gutenberg model. One of the boys explained it about as 
follows: 

“ First there didn’t use to be any printing presses and people just 
wrote like we do (a deep swallow) and the monks wrote (swallow) 
and they lived in the monasteries and so they wrote (swallow) and it 
kept going on and so after a while they thought they had better print. 
But they didn’t know how yet (swallow) so they kept on writing and 
after a while a man named Gutenberg made this printing press and 
I’m going to explain it to you (swallow) . . . He made it in the 
shop (awkward shifting of position). It was in 1439. And he made 
wooden types but they have lead ones in the big printing presses now. 
See you put the paper in there and press down like this and it prints 
and they didn’t know any printed letters like us, so the monks kept 
on writing and Gutenberg whittled out the wooden types just like 
the monks made them but to-day we have written letters and printed 
letters.” 

The class was at once agog with suggestions, for the 
explanation was to be given to another grade and must 
be clear: 

“Joseph mustn’t duck his head and swallow all the time.” 

“ He must think about it, till he won’t say, ‘It kept on going,’ 
and ‘They kept on writing,’ just to fill in.” 

“He said Gutenberg made that printing press and then he said 
the class made it. It would get the children all mixed up.” 

“When you’re explaining a printing press you don’t want to tell 
about monks.” 

Finally another child was chosen to give the explanation. 
Profiting by the criticism of Joseph’s blunders, he gave a 
smoother discourse. 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION 


159 


While, as was stated above, most of the review exercises 
in history and geography are given orally, some are written. 
When, occasionally, something rather long and elaborate is 
desired, the English teacher is asked to cooperate. An in¬ 
stance will be considered. 

On one occasion the Sixth Grade wrote a detailed 
account of “How America Came to be Named ” for the 
benefit of some Seventh Graders who had forgotten the de¬ 
tails. The history teacher reviewed the story, talking very 
slowly in order that the children might take notes to be 
used when writing their papers. The notes were checked 
up before the matter was turned over to the English 
teacher. 

As this was to be a lesson in accurate, detailed reproduc¬ 
tion, the teacher was on the lookout for inaccuracies and 
vagueness of expression, which would render the account 
useless to the children for whom it was being written, and 
would show that the writers had not really assimilated the 
material. 

Some children realized their inability to express them¬ 
selves and came for help. Leading questions were often 
all that was needed. In other instances it was obvious that 
the child did not understand what he was trying to express. 
Then it was suggested that he reread the section, and re¬ 
state the ideas in his own words, trying to keep in mind an 
audience who had never heard the story before. He was 
told to ask himself questions, as, for instance, “ Could they 
understand what I have just said, without knowing that 
fact which I have omitted? ” This idea of writing with the 
audience in mind is often very helpful. 

The finished products of course revealed the fact that 
certain children had not realized the vagueness of their 
expression, and that they needed still more specific aid. 


160 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

The way that such an instance was dealt with is taken up 
later on. 2 

I. SPECIFIC DATA GIVEN 
B. Book Reviews 

In reviewing books, the pupils are also dealing with data 
that are given them, but the task requires more discrimina¬ 
tion than the simple reproduction already described. The 
question, “What have you been reading lately?” never 
fails to arouse enthusiastic interest. All the children are 
eager to tell. Many books are named. The teacher then 
asks that each child prepare a talk on some book which he 
would recommend to his classmates. She suggests the 
following outline: 

1. Give name of book and author. 

2. Tell where and when story takes place. 

3. Name the chief characters. 

4. Tell in detail about one interesting and unforgettable incident. 

The purpose of the lesson as given to the children is to 
make the book so interesting to the class, without telling 
all about it, that many pupils will be induced to read it. 
The children are allowed sufficient time to plan their recita¬ 
tions and to think them through word for word, preparing 
good complete sentences and avoiding too many and’s 
hut's , so’s, then’s , and well’s. A time limit is not set for 
Sixth Graders but they are urged to be brief rather than 
lengthy. This is done to insure good planning. The child 
who, when called upon, rambles on and on without plan is 
not allowed to finish. Those who wish make notes which 
they use when reciting; the teacher advises this method. 
When all questions of a general nature have been answered, 
the children work quietly and are not interrupted during the 
2 See p. 178. 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION 


161 


rest of the period. Further questions are answered in¬ 
dividually at the teacher’s desk. 

The criticism which follows each recitation calls for much 
exercise of judgment on the part of the children and care¬ 
ful direction by the teacher. Appreciation, first of all, is 
demanded. When the lesson in book reviewing is first 
given to the Sixth Grade, it goes somewhat after this fash¬ 
ion: 

teacher: What did you think of that recitation, Ruth? 
ruth: She said “er-er-er” all the time. 

teacher: I didn’t notice that particularly. What did you think 
about it, John? 

john: She said “isn’t” for “aren’t.” 

teacher: Did she? Well, even so, those are small mistakes, aren’t 
they? What did you think of it as a whole? 

(No answer) 

Arthur: It was too long. 

teacher: What do you think she might have left out? 

(No answer) 

teacher: Now, let’s start again. Let’s tell what the recitation was , 
not what it wasn't. Who is ready to tell one thing that 
it was? 

sue: The ending was good. 

teacher: How many agree with Sue? Yes, I think so too. And I 
think the whole of it was very interesting. 

(Murmur of agreement from class) 
teacher: How many agree with me? (Many hands) Well, now, 
why didn’t you say so? What made it interesting? 
george: It was very exciting. 

teacher: Yes. The story itself was a good one. But how could 
she have avoided repeating so many times “And then they 
decided?” 

philip: She could have had them talk to each other about what 

they were going to do, and then they could have done it. 
teacher: Yes. How many of you like to see a page of conver¬ 
sation in the book you are reading? 

(Many hands) 


162 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

teacher: We all like conversation sprinkled into our stories because 
it makes them more interesting. Now, there were some 
mistakes in English that hindered our complete enjoyment 
of the account. A few have already been mentioned. 
What were some of the others? etc. 

After a few lessons of this type, the children learn to 
note first of all what there is good about the recitation, and 
then what is poor and how it could have been made better. 
The teacher never allows all mistakes, if there are many, 
to be brought up because this would discourage the child 
who recites, and encourage unfavorable criticism on the 
part of all. And moreover, the teacher’s aim in this lesson, 
besides the desire to train the children in the right kind of 
criticism, is to make them realize that some matters are 
important and others relatively unimportant. The poor 
pronunciation of “ going to” is not as serious as beginning 
sentences over three and four different ways before finish¬ 
ing them. 

A later lesson of this kind goes something like this: 

teacher: Well, what did you think of that recitation? 
mary: The story wasn’t very interesting, but he told it so well 

that you had to listen. 
teacher: How did he do it? 

mary: He didn’t have to stop to think what he was going to say 

and he had a lot of conversation. 

teacher: You said the story itself wasn’t very interesting. Has 
anyone anything to say about that? 

Joseph: I’ve read that book and I like it very much. I think if he 

had told the incident about-—instead of the one 

he did, it would have been more interesting. 
teacher: (To the child who recited:) What do you think of that 
suggestion? 

child: I think the one I told is more interesting. 

teacher: (To Joseph:) Tell the incident you have in mind and let 
the class judge. 



ENGLISH COMPOSITION 163 

(Child tells it. Class decides that it is the more interesting 
of the two.) 

Thus the child who has recited is shown that he did not 
use the best judgment in choosing his incident. 

After giving a little time to the most frequent and serious 
English mistakes that the child has made, the teacher con¬ 
tinues the lesson. The pleasure that comes to the one who 
is able to hold the interest of the class all the while he is 
talking is reward enough, and the dissatisfaction of the one 
who fails is punishment enough. 

I. SPECIFIC DATA GIVEN 
C. Description of Familiar Scenes 

Once a Sixth Grade wrote letters to a boy, a friend of the 
teacher’s, who lived on a sugar plantation in Louisiana, and 
had always been tutored because there was no good school 
near his home. It was thought that an account of school 
life would interest him, as would also a description of the 
big city of which he knew little. The children hoped in 
return to receive from him letters giving information about 
his life on the southern plantation. 

The pupils suggested subjects which might be of in¬ 
terest and the teacher wrote the list on the blackboard. 
A trip around Manhattan Island, just previous to this 
lesson, supplied many topics. Each child then chose a 
subject or subjects and planned his letter. 

This project afforded more opportunity for originality 
than the narration of an historic incident or than the book 
review described above. The children were all dealing with 
actual facts which were to be reported accurately, but there 
was no set pattern, as in the case of the story of Amerigo 
Vespucci. Those who chose descriptions of the school 


164 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


environment had all their data at hand. They needed only 
to organize it before beginning to write. But some of those 
who elected to contribute to the composite picture of the 
city, had to go in search of data, in some cases gathering 
from various sources and combining. In those cases the 
project would be classed under the second heading, in the 
outline on page 155.’ “Data collected by the pupil from 
various sources and fused by him.” The child who told 
about the Woolworth Building, visited it, and secured a 
guidebook. His personal impressions, supplemented by 
statistics gathered from the guide, made a vivid and accu¬ 
rate account. The one who chose to tell about shipping, 
wrote a letter to one of the steamship companies whose 
boat she saw lying in dock when she sailed around the 
Island. She received information about trips, cargoes, etc. 
The subject, “Islands in the East River,” necessitated a 
careful study of the uses of these islands. In these and 
other instances, facts were gathered by the children and 
written up with a decidedly personal touch. The facts 
were checked up by the geography teacher and inaccuracies 
corrected by the children before the letters were sent. 

II. DATA COLLECTED BY THE PUPIL FROM 
VARIOUS SOURCES AND FUSED BY HIM 

A. Current Topics 

A number of times during the Seventh Grade year, the 
children are given as an English assignment the preparation 
of a short talk on some current topic. Each child is free 
to choose his own topic. He is expected to state the prob¬ 
lem or proposition clearly, and to give as many facts as he 
can marshal concerning it. If the subject is one about 
which he has an opinion he is to state it. 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION 


165 


In the early part of the year many of the talks prove un¬ 
satisfactory to the pupil-audience because they are too 
meager or too one-sided, or are not clearly expressed. A 
typical recitation given in October, 1925, proceeded much as 
follows: 

A talked about prohibition. The class criticized her rec¬ 
itation because it was all personal opinion against prohibi¬ 
tion and contained not a single fact to substantiate her 
view. They were not convinced by her. 

B had chosen the subject of immigration. All he did was 
to state the quota law in per cents, giving no idea as to 
how many people are allowed from any one country. He 
did not tell of reasons for restriction, or give arguments, 
pro or con. The talk was considered most unsatisfac¬ 
tory. 

C gave much the same kind of talk about the French 
debt situation. She stated how much money France owed 
the United States, that she claimed she could not pay it 
until Germany paid her and that a commission had come 
to this country to settle the matter, but she knew nothing 
of what had been done here. The class was not satisfied 
with the amount of information given. 

D spoke on the anthracite coal strike in a most confusing 
way, because, as he admitted frankly, he did not under¬ 
stand it himself. It was scarcely necessary to point out to 
the class that the first requisite of a clear explanation is a 
clear understanding of the subject to be explained. 

E talked about the Hopi Indians. She stated how many 
of these Indains there are now, and noted the fact that 
they have scarcely doubled in number during the last one 
hundred and nineteen years because they are so susceptible 
to the white man’s diseases. She said that they are not 
properly cared for by the government. The Navajos are 


166 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

allowed to take their land from them while they starve for 
lack of it. 

She told how the whites wished to suppress their dances, 
especially the Snake Dance. “I’m sure,” she said, “if we 
stop to think of it, we’ll realize that these dances can’t 
seem any worse to us than our dances seem to them. They 
must think the way we dance, men and women together, 
isn’t nearly as natural as the way they dance, because it’s 
really quite natural to want to jump around more freely 
and make a big noise the way they do.” 

This girl’s recitation was completely satisfying to the 
class. At the end of the period the teacher summarized as 
follows the points to be remembered in preparing for such a 
recitation: 

1. A clear understanding of the subject to be presented. 

2. Adequate number of facts, representing all sides of the question. 

3. Orderly arrangement and clear statement of these facts. 

4. Evidence of a sympathetic understanding of the situation. 

The first point did not need to be emphasized. 

In connection with the second point, the teacher called 
the children’s attention to several magazines and papers, 
giving some characterization of each one, the point of view 
to be expected in that publication. 

In discussing orderly arrangement of facts, she reminded 
the children of the value of notes as guides. 

In connection with the last point, their attention was 
called to the fact that at no time did E say “I think” or 
“I don’t think,” but that she made them all agree with her 
by the facts she produced and by her sympathetic under¬ 
standing of these facts. The teacher emphasized the im¬ 
portance of such understanding and reminded the children 
that it is possible only when one puts one’s self in the other 
person’s place, in other words, lives in the situation through 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION 


167 


the exercise of one’s imagination. Since injustice is usually 
due to lack of imaginative discernment it is well worth 
while to encourage the children to thus “put themselves in 
other people’s places.” 

II. DATA COLLECTED BY THE PUPIL FROM 
VARIOUS SOURCES AND FUSED BY HIM 
B. “Juvenile Theses” 

In the account of the Seventh Grade “ juvenile theses,” 
or “special topics,” reference was made to the English 
teacher’s part in guiding the children, and it was stated 
that more would be said of this work in the chapter on 
“Self-Expression through English Composition.” (See 
page 100.) 

Originality 

The most important quality of this piece of written work 
from the English standpoint, aside from accuracy of state¬ 
ment, is that it should express individuality. It is not 
enough that the student shall be able to gather and organize 
data as described. The presentation of the facts should 
show interest and reflection on the part of the writer, so 
that the reader will feel that the facts have not been merely 
juggled around and presented in a new order, but have 
been exposed to the light of the writer’s personality. 

We cannot make children original. What we can do is 
to keep the atmosphere about them free and joyous so that 
they will dare to be natural. Self-expression is an instinc¬ 
tive tendency. What we teachers do is to check or facili¬ 
tate its development. 

With regard to English composition, if children are 
treated as though they had nothing within themselves 
worthy of expression, they will naturally come to the con- 


168 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


elusion that they really have nothing worth saying or 
writing. Self-expression is furthered by respecting not 
only the child’s knowledge of facts gleaned from books, 
but also his thoughts and feelings concerning and reactions 
to these facts. 

When the English teacher first discusses their “ special 
topics” with the class, she emphasizes the desirability of 
original treatment of the material which they are collecting. 
On one occasion she asked the class to compare the follow¬ 
ing introductions to two essays on “ Slavery in the United 
States” written by Seventh Grade children in previous 
years: 

No. 1. The following topic tells of slavery in what is now the 
United States, from 1619 when it was first introduced in Virginia up 
to the time when it was abolished. It was practiced mostly in the 
South because of the need of hard labor and also because the North did 
much manufacturing and the slaves were not so well fitted to work in 
factories as on farms. The warm climate in the South was especially 
good for the Negroes. The slaves were treated better in the North 
than in the South. 

No. 2. In the following pages I am going to try to give you a 
brief idea of slavery in America, America the nation where all men 
are equal. How funny the word “slavery” sounds in connection 
with it! 

Slavery had its origin way back in prehistoric times. Of course, 
there is no written record of this, but men who have studied the sub¬ 
ject are pretty sure it is true. 

In the very earliest times cave men would carry home their pris¬ 
oners, kill them, and then drink their warm blood. This terrible 
system soon gave way to a slight improvement, the victims were made 
to do all the disagreeable work. Probably many of them were very 
cruelly treated, but this at least showed a slight improvement toward 
civilization. 

Before the beginning of history the servant class was considered as 
a fact and sad to say in most countries there was slavery. Color made 
no difference. Egypt’s noble men were black and her slaves also. 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION 169 

In Greece and Rome there were slaves. These were usually part of 
the spoils of war, and were almost always white. In fact, in most of 
the civilized countries of the world this terrible system persisted until 
the fall of Rome. After a while, however, when the Moors swept over 
into Europe, slavery was started again. 

Slavery was not so bad then as it was later in America, as the slaves 
often rose to high positions. 

In America, however, the slaves for generations were doomed to 
everlasting servitude. Although after the Civil War, that terrible 
war where brothers often fought against brothers, slavery was abol¬ 
ished here, it left a terrible blot in the history of our Nation. 

The class agreed that the second was more stimulating to 
their interest than the first. 

teacher: Why? 

child: Because the first is just facts. 

teacher: Isn’t the second facts? 
child: Yes, but—the second is longer. 

teacher: True. The second writer seems to have had more in her 
mind than the first; she is richer in detail, but does that 
account for it entirely? 

(No answer at first. Then a number of irrelevant sugges¬ 
tions were made.) 

teacher: Listen to this introduction to an essay on Inventions. 
Is it like the first or second that I read to you? 

No. 3. I am trying to give an idea of the inventions that led to 
the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution always brings 
to my mind a picture of a huge hand stretching out from a factory and 
pulling into the factory spinning-wheels, hand-looms, men, women, 
and children to work in the factory with the new power-loom, spinning 
“Jenny,” and fly-shuttle. 

When this conflict of old and new methods was settled, quicker 
means of transportation were needed, so I am also going to write 
about trains and boats besides the invention of factory machinery. 

child: Well, it only tells what the person is going to write about 

like the first one. 

teacher: Only? Is there nothing besides? Notice the second 


170 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

sentence —“The Industrial Revolution always brings to 
my mind a picture of a huge hand stretching out from a 
factory and pulling into the factory spinning-wheels, hand- 
looms, men, women, and children to work in the factory 
with the new power-loom, spinning 1 Jenny,’ and fly- 
shuttle.” 

child: It tells you what the writer is thinking. 

teacher: That’s it. There’s a personal touch. The girl who wrote 
this thought about what she was writing. Did the one who 
wrote the introduction to No. 1.? 

child: Well, you can’t tell by what he says. It sounds as if the 

facts were just copied out of history books. 
teacher: Exactly. You can’t tell. Of course the writer may have 
thought about his material, but he doesn’t show that he has. 
Now notice the first paragraph of No. 2: “In the following 
pages I am going to try to give you a brief idea of slavery 
in America, America the nation where all men are equal. 
How funny the word “slavery” sounds in connection with 
it! . . . Do you see how in those sentences the writer 
shows that she has thought about the strangeness of there 
being slavery in a country where all people are supposed to 
be equal? . . . Take this. What attitude toward pioneer¬ 
ing would you expect to find in an essay on that subject, 
judging by this dedication? 

“This book is dedicated to 
Those brave pioneers 
Long may they be remembered— 

Those brave pioneers 

Who toiled through hardships for us— 

Those brave pioneers 

Who helped our land to grow— 

Those brave pioneers 

Who moved onward, yes onward 

To the cry of Westward Ho!” 

child: That of respect for the pioneers. 

teacher: Yes. And all through the composition this writer shows 
that she admires them, though she tells all about them, 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION 


171 


bad things as well as good. If in the essay you write you 
show that you have thought and felt about your subject 
as well as understood it, your composition will be much 
more interesting to read than if you merely recombine and 
rearrange the facts you collect from your reference books. 
Make the reader sure there’s a real live you behind your 
facts. 

The children should not be left with the feeling that they 
must never quote striking passages from the books they 
read. This matter is taken up very definitely, in the class 
and with individuals. The way in which one girl was 
helped to choose suitable quotations will illustrate the 
method employed. Her topic was Transportation. She 
came to the teacher and said: “I don’t know whether to 
quote this description of the early stagecoach or to write 
it in my own words,” 

The stagecoach of the year 1818 had an egg-shaped body and was 
suspended on thick leather straps, called thorough braces, which 
gave the vehicle a comparatively easy motion. After being worn 
these frequently broke, and one side of the coach would settle. The 
patient travellers then alighted, took a rail from an adjoining fence, 
righted up the body of the coach, and went on slowly to the next 
village for repairs. 

The teacher asked her if, when she first read it, this de¬ 
scription struck her as being unusually good. She replied 
that it did. Did she think she could make as good a picture 
or better by giving the description in her own way? She 
did not. Then why not quote it? We usually quote when 
we find that someone has expressed what we would like to 
express better than we can do it ourselves. 

“Well, then,” said the girl, turning to another page in 
the book, “I certainly think I ought to quote this also, 
don’t you? It struck me so funny.” 


172 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

In order that the coaches should not overturn in the deep ruts 
on the roads the driver frequently had to call out, “Now, gentlemen, 
to the right,” upon which all the passengers stretched their bodies 
half way out of the carriage to balance on that side. 

The teacher agreed that it should be quoted and the 
girl went to her seat satisfied. She had a great many quo¬ 
tations in her essay and in the final criticism the teacher 
was able to comment on the fact that they were unusually 
well-chosen. 

The mention of quotations brings to mind the very im¬ 
portant matter of plagiarism. Before the children begin 
their essays there is a thorough discussion of this subject 
from the ethical standpoint. Conscious plagiarism does 
not become a problem, but there are always some phases of 
the subject to be dealt with. The introduction to an essay 
on immigration began without quotation marks: “I am the 
immigrant. Since the dawn of creation my restless 
feet have beaten new paths across the earth, my un¬ 
easy bark has tossed on all seas. My wanderlust, etc.” 
The teacher knew immediately that the child did not write 
that. She called the pupil to her and asked if she had com¬ 
posed it. The girl answered quite innocently, “No. It’s 
a quotation—Oh, I forgot the quotation marks!” 

It was pointed out to her that careless mistakes are not 
all of equal importance, and that to be careless in this re¬ 
spect is a serious offense. 

Another girl, when she was telling about the Tenement 
House Committee, wrote: “A friend of mine, who was a 
member of this committee told me once about its first in¬ 
vestigation. Here are his very words: 

‘“We were prepared for bad conditions in the tenements, 
but there was not one of us who expected them to be as 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION 


173 


bad as they were. Everywhere we went, we saw dark, 
dirty rooms; I never can forget the sight of those places,’ ” 
—and so on for three paragraphs in which she described the 
conditions very vividly. 

The teacher was doubtful about the existence of this 
friend and the child’s ability to quote him so accurately. 
She questioned the girl about it. Her answer was that she 
had no friend on the committee, but she thought the mate¬ 
rial would be more interestingly and forcefully presented if 
she wrote it that way. Of course she was told that it could 
not stand as it was and must be rewritten in the third per¬ 
son. The child liked what she had written and was reluctant 
to change it, even though she saw the point immediately. 
The teacher suggested that the only way to make it true 
would be to go to the headquarters of the Tenement House 
Committee and get someone there to vouch for the state¬ 
ments. This the girl did. One of the workers was willing 
to be quoted as having said what the girl had written. So 
that problem was solved. 

As the teacher was reading one of the essays several pages 
impressed her as sounding very mature and “bookish.” 
She said to the writer, “ These pages sound to me very 
much as if they came out of a history book. Tell me about 
them.” 

The child replied, “I did not copy them. I changed some 
part of each sentence. I used Thwaites and Kendall. See 
here are the pages. I couldn’t seem to write this part with¬ 
out looking at the book all the time, but I changed every 
sentence.” 

Sure enough. Sentence by sentence the words had been 
juggled. It was pointed out to the boy that he did not 
really understand what he was writing about. His pages 
were destroyed. He read about this phase of his topic in 


174 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


several books until he had assimilated the ideas, and then 
rewrote freely in simple childish language. 

He had been perfectly honest in intention, not realizing 
that such a paraphrase is a form of plagiarism. It is how¬ 
ever the most common form, and the most insidious, and 
of course subversive of the very quality for which we are 
striving in this piece of work, originality of treatment. 

Out of the twenty children in one class, seven expressed 
their individuality through their facts to a remarkable de¬ 
gree. A girl with strong sympathy for the poor and un¬ 
fortunate wrote a splendid essay on “ Slavery in the United 
States,” accurate in its facts, convincing in its sincerity, 
throbbing with sympathy. A boy with a great love of 
argument chose “ Prohibition” as his subject. It was not 
easy to make him present the facts on both sides fairly be¬ 
cause he wanted to keep on forever giving facts in favor of it. 
He quoted from Shakespeare and even burst into original 
poetry now and then. He was helped to see the inadequacy 
of presenting only one side of a question, and consented to 
cite opinions contrary to his own, but throughout, his 
essay bore the stamp of his personality and his strong 
conviction. 

A girl with an artistic outlook on life wrote a delightful 
essay on the “American Indians.” It showed sympathetic 
understanding of the emotional life which motivates their 
ceremonials and, indeed, the daily routine of an Indian 
community. Another girl with a strong practical bent, 
who has lived a great part of her life on a farm, wrote about 
life in colonial days in so convincing a way that one would 
think that she had experienced it. She created a family, 
father, mother, boy, and girl, and through them presented 
many phases of colonial life. 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION 


175 


Always some children want to write a story, and some¬ 
times the best way for a child to infuse his personality into 
a mass of collected data is to write up the material in story 
form. In no other way can he so surely prove his sympathetic 
identification of himself with the characters who are ex¬ 
periencing the conditions of which he is writing. This 
seemed to be the case in the instance just cited above. 
Four other members of this group of twenty used the story 
form in parts of their essays very successfully. 

However, some of these children spent far too much time 
searching through many books for accurate accounts of 
unimportant details needed to give local color to incidents 
in their stories. 

A graver danger must be guarded against, one illustrated 
by the case of a girl who wrote about Welfare Work in New 
York City. Most of her chapters were in story form. She 
was not interested in collecting sufficient data to make her 
work valuable from the research standpoint. A few hastily 
scanned facts set her imagination to work and off she went, 
creating fictitious experiences, which gave her great satis¬ 
faction but which would not have been recognized by the 
Social Workers of the City. It was easy to see that she 
was identifying herself with the nurse she had created and 
living in an imaginary world with a flattering sense of self¬ 
gratification in the virtues thus assumed. 

Teachers need to be especially on their guard against 
this tendency of many children to shrink hock into o world 
of infantile fantasy, demanding that everything be in the 
form of a story, even scientific facts dramatized. The 
child normally developing out of infancy must cease to re¬ 
gard all situations as scenes in which he can play his role by 
identification with the actors. Many children are arrested 
in this story world and never attain greater development. 


176 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


They never leave infancy behind sufficiently to recognize 
that many situations are purely objective. Things and 
persons need to be sharply distinguished and many person¬ 
alities regarded as quite distinct from one’s own: 

The baby new to earth and sky, 

What time his tender palm is prest 
Against the circle of the breast, 

Has never thought that this is I: 

But as he grows he gathers much, 

And learns the use of T’ and ‘me/ 

And finds T am not what I see, 

And other than the things I touch.’ 

So rounds he to a separate mind 

From whence clear memory may begin, 

As thro’ the frame that binds him in 
His isolation grows defined. 

Tennyson, In Memoriam. 

Otherwise, he becomes a person who reads little except 
novels and finds little of interest in undramatic exposi¬ 
tions of political, scientific, or sociological facts. 

The teacher often feels herself in a “ strait betwixt two,” 
as the Apostle Paul said. She must help children to develop 
sympathetic understanding of human situations through 
the imaginative identification of themselves with other 
people differently circumstanced; she must not foster in¬ 
fantile fantasy by allowing them to regard subjectively 
what should be objective. 

The writers of children’s books, in recent years, have done 
much to aggravate this difficulty. The stores are full of 
fascinating volumes, interestingly written, charmingly 
illustrated. Children devour them, especially city children 
who have no outlet for creative activity. They live in the 
fictitious worlds between the artistic covers of these vol- 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION 


177 


umes. Often it seems impossible to find a simple, accurate 
non-fiction book, from which a child can gather the in¬ 
formation he needs in studying a given topic. Some of these 
Seventh Grade children realized this fact. One child said, 
“ Why doesn’t somebody write something about the Pueblo 
Indians that I can understand, and that isn’t just stories?” 

It seems that in such a research problem the story form 
should not be encouraged. If a child feels that in no other 
way can he handle his material, he must be helped to keep 
his facts accurate, and to draw some useful deductions from 
them. It may be that some of the children add interest to 
their essays by including one or two units in story form. A 
boy writing on “ Transportation” included one such unit, 
an imaginary stagecoach journey from New York to Boston 
in colonial days. An essay on Child Labor contained this 
original poem representing the longings of a little Italian 
boot-black: 

WHY? 

Why can’t I, like other children 
Go to school and run and play? 

Why must I throughout the winter 
Shining shoes, on corner stay? 

Why can’t I once have a Sunday 
Getting dressed in all my best, 

Just enjoy a day of leisure 
Doing nothing, taking rest? 

Why can’t I go once to movies 
Where the lights are shining bright? 

Why I never get a supper 
When I come back home at night? 

Why can’t I like other children, 

Go to school and run and play? 

Why must I throughout the winter 
Shining shoes, on corner stay? 


178 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


The major part of the essay in each of these cases was con¬ 
ceived objectively. The flights of fancy enlivened and en¬ 
riched the whole. 

Clearness of Expression 

As the work on the “special topics” progresses the Eng¬ 
lish teacher is responsible for helping the children to over¬ 
come difficulties in the technique of writing so that they can 
express clearly the thoughts that come to them. Of course 
there are always some children for whom language is diffi¬ 
cult. Even in the Seventh Grade, it is sometimes necessary 
for a child to demonstrate a situation concretely before he 
can expound it in words. The following example illustrates 
this point: 

A child tried to tell how the Eskimo lamp is used for 
melting ice. His description was not understandable. The 
teacher called him to her and asked what it meant. He 
tried to explain, but could not. The teacher saw that he 
did not know himself how the contrivance worked and sent 
him back to the source to restudy the account until he was 
able to demonstrate on the desk with books and ruler the 
way the process was managed. She then made him explain 
it to her in words and helped him to express it. 

The final description is not a polished piece of writing, 
but it is the best that could be expected of this particular 
pupil: 

The Eskimo drinks a lot of water and to get this water he has to 
melt ice and snow for which his lamp comes in very handy. The 
process is to take a large stone and put the lamp on it, then take two 
smaller stones and place them at each end of the lamp, then place a 
thin rough rock on them so the ice will not slip off, put the top rock in 
a slanting position and put a cup at the lowest end of the rock. By 
placing the ice on the top rock it will melt into water and run down 
into the cup. 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION 


179 


The important thing here was that the child should have 
been shown how to solve his problem. Clearness of expres¬ 
sion will always be relative to the child’s ability. 

Unity 

Another problem certain to arise in connection with this 
project is that of unity. The word itself is not used because 
it carries very little meaning to a child, but the idea is dealt 
with concretely. The first chapter in the essay on “ Trans¬ 
portation in America ” referred to above lacked unity. The 
teacher called the girl to her and explained how she had 
“made sandwiches ” of her material, first some stage¬ 
coach, then some routes, then the number of coaches in 
Philadelphia, then some more coach, etc. The girl could 
not see the objection to doing it this way. She could not 
get the point. So the teacher wrote out on a card the topic 
of each one of her paragraphs in the order in which she had 
written them and asked her to take it home with the com¬ 
position and study the problem that night. 

It was also pointed out to her that paragraph six did not 
seem to belong in the chapter. What had the coaches of 
England and Scotland to do with those in America? 

The contents of the card here reproduced are: 

STAGECOACHES AND OTHER EARLY VEHICLES IN 
THE UNITED STATES 

1. Introduction: Stagecoaches in general 

2. Line between Boston and New York 
Line between Savannah and Portsmouth 

3. Number of people in Philadelphia who had vehicles, 1761-1794 

4. Description of coaches 

5. Description of other vehicles 

6. Stagecoaches in England and Scotland 

7. Rivalry among drivers 


180 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


8. Discomforts of riding in coaches 

9. Rail troubles 

10. How coaches were kept from turning over 

11. Description of a filled stage 

12. National Road 

13. Concord Coach best. 

The girl saw what was wrong and came back the next 
morning with a plan for rearrangement as follows: 

1. Introduction: Stagecoaches in general 

2. Stagecoaches in England and Scotland 

3. Number of people in Philadelphia who had vehicles, 1761-1794 

4. Line between Boston and New York 
Line between Savannah and Portsmouth 

5. Description of a filled stage 

6. Rivalry among drivers 

7. Discomforts of riding in coaches 

8. How coaches were kept from turning over 

9. National Road 

10. Concord Coach best. 

She unified and clarified the chapter further by naming 
at the end of her first paragraph the different kinds of early 
vehicles used in the United States, something she had not 
done before. Also she related the paragraph on the English 
and Scotch coaches to her account of those in America by 
the sentence, “When the English colonists came over to 
America, they brought English ideas with them.” The 
final product left something to be desired from the stand¬ 
point of unity, but the girl solved her problem herself as 
capably as her understanding and ability allowed, and that 
is all one can expect. 

Sometimes it happens that what a teacher points out as a 
problem, the child cannot recognize as such. This happened 
in the case of a girl who, in an essay on the “Pueblo In¬ 
dians,” introduced two of their folk stories complete without 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION 


181 


giving or having any special reason for so doing except that 
she liked the stories. She was unable to understand that 
this was irrelevant and the matter was dropped. Her only 
introduction to the chapter was “The Pueblo Indian stories 
are very interesting—many of them as interesting as fairy 
tales.” 

It is not possible to touch on all points which may come 
up for discussion in supervising such a project. It is hoped 
that enough has been said to give a fair idea of how children 
are helped so that they can more independently solve 
their own problems in later research work. 


CHAPTER VIII 


SELF-EXPRESSION THROUGH ENGLISH 
COMPOSITION (Continued) 

III. IMAGINATIVE WRITING 1 

Necessary as are all the foregoing types of composition, 
it must never be forgotten that the highest goal of written 
exercises is literary expression, interpretive of life and 
character as the writer intuitively understands them. The 
ideal is that the pupil recombine his vital experiences into 
a new unit which is really original, that is, that he shall 
write at the dictation of a well-directed imagination. One 
of the best means to this end is the exercise starting with a 
given condition or situation or problem to be continued or 
solved by the pupil’s own fancy. 

A. Personification 

Like primitive people, little children do not discriminate 
between the animate and the inanimate. All mythologies 
with their tree nymphs and water nymphs, their thunder 
gods and dawn goddesses testify to this. 

Feeling within themselves a personality which actuates 
their movements, they attribute the same sort of purposive 
agency to their pet animals and to wind and clouds and 
flowers. Things which aid are assumed to do so from kindly 
motives, things which hurt or thwart do so with unkindly 
purpose. The kind sun warms, the naughty rock bruises 

1 The complete outline is given on p. 155. 

182 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION (Continued) 183 

with malevolent intent. In other words, personification is 
natural to young children. 

On the other hand, lack of experience affords them scanty 
imagery out of which to construct an imaginary world. 
What we call childish imagination is largely matter-of-fact, 
naive ignorance. Their personifications are meager and 
unconscious. As their experience of life widens, they ac¬ 
quire a larger conception of personality, and greater rich¬ 
ness and variety of imagery. At the same time their 
increasing knowledge of facts helps them to discriminate 
between those objects which are endowed with personality 
and those which are not. If now they personify an animal 
or a thing, the process becomes a conscious one, calling forth 
many of the most useful attributes of imagination. 

Stated from one viewpoint, there can be no higher goal 
of education than the intelligent sympathy which is im¬ 
agination consciously at work to construct from one’s own 
past experiences a comprehensive picture of the way an¬ 
other person must be thinking and feeling under given con¬ 
ditions. Most persons in violating the Golden Rule do so 
through failure to realize what they would wish done to 
them under the other person’s conditions. 

We believe that children who have mastered some of 
the tools requisite for written expression and have emerged 
from their first period of naive, universal personification 
into one where the process may become a conscious and 
selective one are ready to enjoy and be greatly benefit ted 
intellectually and morally by writing personifications. 
One such lesson in a Fifth Grade followed the reading of 
several stories from Farmtown Tales 2 in which farm ani¬ 
mals are delightfully personified. 

These stories called forth from the children accounts of 
2 Thompson, Mary W., E. P. Dutton & Co., 1923. 


184 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

interesting incidents in connection with their own pets. 
After several lessons had been devoted to these animal 
stories, read and told, the teacher one day said. 

“John made it very clear how he felt when the horse was running 
away with him, but I wonder how the horse felt and what he was 
thinking. And I wonder what Sue’s parrot thought when the cat 
jumped at her, and what was going on inside Harry’s dog's head 
when he was chained up to his kennel and not allowed to be free any 
more. If your pets could have talked, what do you suppose they 
would have said?” 

She proposed that each child write after the manner of 
the Farmtown Tales , having his pet tell the story. 

A lesson given in a Sixth Grade will illustrate more fully 
how the children are helped to direct their imaginations. In 
this exercise each child was to select some inanimate object 
and let it tell a story. Before they began to write, the 
teacher read to them several compositions, written by 
Seventh Grade pupils. These personifications were dis¬ 
cussed in considerable detail, as follows: 

The Story the Nickel Told 

I was melted and stamped in Washington one day, and was given 
to a little girl who liked shiny nickels. I was next taken to a candy 
store and given to the store-keeper, who in turn paid me to a man. 
This man got on a trolley and I was paid to a conductor. A woman 
got on the car and I was given to her for change. The woman took 
me to a butcher-shop and left me there. Then a boy came and got 
me and went out and put me in a crap game. In a little while I was 
spent for cigarettes. A little girl came in and got some ice-cream, and 
I was given to her for change. She took me home and put me in a 
nickel bank and I am here yet. 

The children did not show much interest. The dis¬ 
cussion proceeded in this wise: 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION (Continued) 185 

teacher: Isn’t it interesting? 

MOST OF CLASS: No. 

teacher: Why not? 

child: Well, it just says that the nickel was handed from one 

person to another. It’s just what happened to it. 

teacher: What details might have been given to make it more 
interesting? 

child: He might have told how the nickel felt when it was being 

melted and stamped. 

teacher: Yes. What else? 

child: When it was in the conductor’s pocket, there might have 

been some other coins there and they could have had a 
conversation. 

teacher: What might they have said? 

child: Well, the new shiny nickel might not like to rub up against 

other nickels that were dirty, and it might ask them to 
keep away from it. Then the others would say mean things 
about it. 

another child: One of the dirty nickels might say, “Well, you 
needn’t think you’re so wonderful because you’re clean and 
shiny! I was once just like you and some day you’ll be just 
as dirty as I am.” 

another child: One of the dirty nickels might tell the story of its 
life and make the new nickel ashamed of itself. 

teacher: Any other suggestions of what might have happened 
to this nickel? 

child: Maybe it was put into a cash register in the butcher-shop 

and thought it was some kind of a prison. 

teacher: Yes. Any of the things you mention would have made 
the story of the nickel more interesting. . . . Now, isn’t 
there anything good in the composition as it stands? 

(No answer.) 

teacher: What about the ending? “She took me home and put me 
in a nickel bank and I am here yet. ” Is that a good place 
to stop? 

Yes, because it isn’t moving around any more and has time 
to tell its story. 


child: 


186 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

During the recitation the children’s attention was called 
incidentally to the choppiness of the sentence structure and 
to the unpleasant repetition of got . 

The teacher then read the second composition called 
“The Old Ford Speaks” which appealed to the children 
very much because of the humorous situation created when 
the Ford was expected to carry the fat lady of the circus and 
wouldn’t “budge an inch” and because of the ending,— 
the innocent statement—“As I turn to rust, I wonder why 
the Fords are treated with so much ridicule in public. I 
imagine a Ford is a good car if it is used right.” 

Another composition written by a Sixth Grade pupil, a 
story about a history book, a geography book, and their 
separate owners, was read and its good points commented 
on, then a newspaper article beginning: 

MISS SPRING HERE, 

GLAD TO SEE US, 

CHEERS UP CITY. 

Young Lady, Accompanied by Pa 
Knickerbocker , Takes a Tour 
About Town . 

The children enjoyed this and another one beginning: 

FERRYBOATS TALK 

FOG LANGUAGE 

“ Zooms,” “ Phoots ” and “ Dings ” 

Mean Much When Mist 
Settles Over River, 

This last suggested that the personification of more than 
one “ thing ” makes an interesting piece of work. Emerson’s 
poem “The Mountain and the Squirrel” was read to show 
how conversation alone can personify. And the following 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION (Continued) 187 

composition showed how a Seventh Grade girl adapted 
Emerson’s idea to her own purposes. She was an especially 
gifted child violinist: 

The Violin and the Piano. 

An artist in his studio had a violin and a piano. Once the piano 
said to the violin, “You know, I think that you are a poor instrument. 
You have only four strings and you can never give such rich harmony 
as I can.’ , 

“ Yes, my friend, it is true that I cannot make as rich harmony as 
you but I can sing, and sing so nicely that often I make the people 
cry when they are listening to me. I can make people’s minds travel 
far away to the green fields and dark forests, to the high mountains 
and wide ocean.” 

The violin began to play a wonderful melody and the piano ac¬ 
companied her. As they played together they made beautiful music 
with the piano’s rich harmony and the wonderful tune of the violin. 

The perfection of this piece of work, its originality of con¬ 
ception, beauty of expression, and balance cannot be ade¬ 
quately expressed in words. The teacher looked at the 
children who sat before her and they looked back at her 
with appreciation and admiration written on their faces. 
With this high standard of attainment before them and 
with the variety of form, monologue, dialogue, or story 
from which to choose, the children were given a few mo¬ 
ments to decide on subjects for their own compositions. 
Most of them had no difficulty, but to the few who did the 
teacher suggested “The Mountain and the Valley,” “The 
River and the Ocean,” or any other such subjects from ge¬ 
ography; the story of something particularly interesting 
that they owned; of an heirloom in the family, etc. After a 
little time for thinking had elapsed, the children were called 
on to tell what they had chosen. A girl with special interest 
in music chose, “The Organ, the Violin, and the Piano. 


188 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

A boy who loved baseball chose “The Baseball and Bat.” 
Other subjects were “The Church Steeple/’ “Sweaters in 
the Locker-room/’ “The Wind and the Windmill.” A 
steady knitter chose “A Pair of Knitting Needles in a Desk/’ 
a boy who is interested in boats took “The Mauretania and 
Its Tug-boat.” “The Basketball and the Basket/’ “The 
Desk and the Chair/’ “The Nickel, the Penny, and the 
Dime,” and “The Book Shop” were other subjects. 3 By 
this time the forty minutes were over. The writing of the 
compositions was done in subsequent periods. 

Another exercise in personification followed a Sixth Grade 
geography excursion to a fish market. The children had 
been studying about the fishing industry in the United 
States. While at the market they took notes on the differ¬ 
ent kinds of fish they saw and where they came from. 

At the beginning of an English period, a day or two after 
this trip, the teacher surprised the children by waving her 
hand above them and saying: “‘Hokus-pokus-jiminy- 
smokus/ I change you all into fish.” 

For a moment the children looked astonished, and then 
fell in with the idea, a number of them making swimming 
strokes with their arms. 

When asked what kinds of fish they were, their answer 
disclosed that there were almost as many varieties as there 
were children in the room. In answering the question, 
“Where were you born?” most of them showed that they 
remembered what they had learned at the market. 

When it was proposed that they write their autobiog¬ 
raphies they were eager to begin, but ignorance about 
themselves made it necessary for the whole class to go to the 

3 It will be seen that most of the subjects are of the dialogue kind, probably 
because of the last composition read. 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION (Continued) 189 

library to get some accurate information. Before they 
went, the teacher explained how to look up a subject in the 
encyclopedia. The Book of Knowledge , Americana , and 
The New International Encyclopedia were to be used. 
Each child was to look up his fish in one of these books and 
to take notes on what he found. 

It was explained to them that a student would work more 
effectively in such a search for information if he had clearly 
in mind certain questions which he wished answered. They 
thought out questions and wrote them down. The ques¬ 
tions in aggregate indicated that the children wished to 
know how the fish looked, where they lived, what they ate 
and what ate them, where the eggs were laid, how the fish 
would be caught, under what other circumstances the fish 
would be likely to die, and any unusual and interesting 
habits. They were told that they must not expect to find 
all of these facts about any one fish that they might look 
up. Moreover they were warned that the articles would 
contain many scientific terms which they would not be 
able to understand. They would have to skip the big words 
and take notes only on the material they might use in their 
stories. 

When the class had assembled in the library the teacher 
began to read to them the article on the Crab in the New 
International Encyclopedia: 

A crustacean of the order Decapoda and suborder Brachyura, char¬ 
acterized by the small size of the abdomen, which resembles a short 
tail curved under the thorax. The term extends also to some of the 
suborder Anomura, etc. 

Of course the children were getting nothing from this', 
so the teacher skipped to the second paragraph. The be¬ 
ginning sentences are impossibly difficult, but presently 
she came to the words: 


190 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

The eyes are compound, with hexagonal facets, and are elevated 
on stalks, which are generally short, but sometimes considerably 
lengthened, and which have the power of motion, so as to turn the 
eye in different directions. The first pair of limbs are not used for 
locomotion, but exhibit in great perfection the characteristic claws 
or pincers (chelae) of the decapod crustaceans. 

The children could understand most of this and were in¬ 
terested. The rest of this paragraph is easy reading and 
tells where crabs live, what they eat, and how they run, 
“ sidewise rather than straight ahead.” 

The third paragraph begins, “ Their development is 
accomplished by metamorphosis” and like the first is full 
of big words. It was skipped. 

The fourth paragraph contains material suitable for use 
in a child’s story: 

Crabs, like all arthropods, moult or change their shell, not at 
fixed intervals or seasons, but according to the exigencies of their 
growth, the change being made with great frequency when they are 
very young, but rarely in advanced age. 

In spite of the few big words the children could under¬ 
stand this. 

The fourth paragraph also was used. It gives many in¬ 
teresting facts about size, color, and food. 

The paragraph on “Economic Importance” was skipped 
because it looked too difficult, but the following one was 
read because it tells of the ways of catching crabs. 

The children were advised to go through their articles in 
this way, skipping what they could not understand. The 
teacher circulated among them giving assistance to those 
who were discouraged by finding so many big words that 
they could not “make head or tail” of the article. A few 
children had to give up the fish they had chosen because 
they could not find enough material about it. 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION (Continued) 191 

Each child began to write his composition when he felt 
that he had gathered enough material, and had worked out 
a plan for developing it effectively. 

The criticism of these stories when they were finished 
made the children conscious of methods of getting results 
of which they were unconscious when they wrote. The 
first composition the teacher read to the class was: 

My Adventures in the Deep 

I am a female lobster. I am very funny looking to you humans 
but I am a very beautiful lobster, if I do say it myself. I have long 
feelers and two nice big claws with which I catch my food. I can also 
pinch with them. I will tell you the history of my youth so that you, 
who are young and foolish, may profit by it. 

I do not remember anything until a few days after I was born. 
I was tucked under my mother’s body, admiring her big claws and 
hard shell. 

“Mother,” said I, “when will I be as big as you?” 

“Pretty soon,” she answered. 

“But how soon?” I persisted. 

“When you are as old as I am,” was the answer. 

“How old are you?” I asked. 

“Little children shouldn’t ask so many questions,” answered my 
mother snappishly. I said nothing more. 

A few days later I was congratulating myself on the fact that my 
shell was getting nice and hard when suddenly I had a curious feeling. 
I felt as if my skin was coming off! I called my mother and she 
hurried up. 

“Mother, what is happening to me?” I asked. 

My mother, who had just come up gave a glance at me and then 
sighed relievedly. 

“Oh, I thought you were in danger,” she said, “you are just moult¬ 
ing.” 

“Well, if this is moulting I’m sure I don’t like it,” I said, “but what 
is happening to me?” 

“Why, your skin is coming off and you have a nice new one under¬ 
neath,” was the reply. 

“Is my shell coming off too?” I asked anxiously. 


192 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


“Of course,” answered my mother. 

I was so disappointed I began to cry. 

“Why, what is the matter?” asked my mother. 

“Oh, oh,” I wailed, “just as my shell was getting nice and hard I 
have to moult. What shall I do! ” 

“Never mind,” said my mother soothingly, “your new shell will 
grow twice as fast as the old one and will be twice as hard, by the time 
you moult again. You will moult many times during the year so 
you must get used to it now.” 

“And will my shell always come off? ” I queried. 

“Oh, no,” was the answer, “when you are grown up your shell will 
be so hard that just the skin on top of it will come off. But come and 
get out of your skin.” 

Not long after this my mother decided it was time for me to go to 
school. I did not like the idea very much as I preferred to stay with 
my mother and play, but I went with her to the old schoolmaster. 
He was a large old lobster with big claws. While my mother was 
talking to him I looked at the class. It was a very small class. I 
knew everyone in it. There was Rosie, Johnny, Harry, Jimmy, 
Charlie, Teddy, Benny, and Joe. You most likely are surprised that 
there was only one girl in the class. But a lot of the old lobsters 
thought that the girls did not have to be educated. My mother 
thought differently, however, At last she got through talking and 
prepared to leave. I was rather frightened at being left there but 
my mother assured me that it would be all right. So she went. 

As soon as my mother had gone the old schoolmaster turned to me. 

“What’s your name?” he said gruffly. 

“L-Lucy Lobster,” I stammered. 

“I suppose you don’t know the alphabet?” was his next question. 

“N-No sir,” I said. 

“Well come here. Do you see this? This is a, and this is b and this 
is c. Now go to that seat and study them,” said he. 

I went and all morning all I did was say a, b, c, a, b , c, over and over. 
At last the schoolmaster said that we could go. 

So that you can fully understand all my school adventures I must 
tell you something of our school hours. We lobsters do not like the 
light so we usually sleep during the day. In the early morning we 
went to school from five to eight. We then went home and slept 
until five o’clock in the afternoon. We then went to school until 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION (Continued) 193 

nine o’clock. An hour was allowed for lunch and we then went to 
school until two o’clock in the morning and then we were allowed to 
go home until five in the morning again. I had started to school in the 
early morning. 

As soon as I got home my mother said, “Well, how do you like 
school?” 

“Oh, it is so dull,” I answered, “all I did all morning was to say 
0 , b, c, a, b, c, over and over again and I am so sleepy that I cannot 
keep my eyes open.” And before you could say “Jack Robinson” 
I was asleep. 

I soon grew to like school, however, especially the stories of daring 
explorers who had gone out to explore the unknown. But alas! not 
one of them had ever come back. I was filled with a burning desire 
to follow in their footsteps, even if it did cost me my life. At last 
I thought that I would get undying fame for myself if I started out 
before I was grown up. So one day instead of going home to sleep 
when school was out in the morning I started out towards a part of 
the sea that was unknown to us. I had just gone a little ways when 
the light began to get stronger. It was uncomfortable but I pushed 
on determined to “do or die.” At last I could stand it no longer and 
I was becoming so sleepy I could move no farther. I decided to make 
one last desperate try. I turned in a different direction thinking that 
perhaps here the sun would not be so strong. But it was even stronger 
there than where I had come from. I sank down and had just strength 
enough left to utter the one word, “Mother.” After that I knew no 
more for a time. 

The next thing I knew was a feeling of complete comfort. 

“ Oh, I must be in heaven,” I thought. 

Then suddenly I heard my mother’s voice. 

“Thank goodness, she’s alive,” I heard it say. 

I opened my eyes, but had just time to catch a glimpse of my own 
familiar home, before I had to close them again, as they hurt so much. 

“Mother,” I called. 

I heard footsteps. 

“Yes, what is it?” 

“Oh, how did I ever get here?” I said, “I thought I would never 
see this again.” 

“Well, when I found that you did not come home to sleep I set 
out to hunt for you. I found you right outside our lobster village.” 


194 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


“Oh, but I’m sure that I went much farther than that,” I said. 

Just then an idea struck me. I could not see when the light got 
strong so that when I turned I must have been going right back to the 
village. Just as I had figured this out my mother broke in upon my 
meditations. 

“Where in the world were you going child, and why didn’t you tell 
me first?” 

“I was going to be an explorer,” I said, “but I had to stop.” 

“An explorer indeed,” said my mother, “as if any good could come 
of being an explorer. You just get all such silly notions out of your 
head, and be content to stay at home. Whenever you want to explore 
something you come to me and I’ll give you a school book to explore 
so that you’ll learn something else besides history.” 

I was so thoroughly frightened by the thought that I was almost 
killed that I never ventured out of the village again. And so my 
early adventures were “nipped in the bud,” by the almost fatal end to 
this one. 

A report of the discussion follows: 

teacher: Well, did you like it? 
most oe class: Yes. 

teacher: What were some of the good things about it? 
child: It tells a lot about lobsters. 

teacher: What, for instance? 

child: Well, it tells how the lobster looks and how she sheds her 

shell, and goes to school at night, and sleeps during the day. 
teacher: How many of you enjoyed the part about the moulting? 

(Most of the class raised their hands.) Can you tell how 
the writer made it so interesting? 

child: It makes you understand just how the little lobster feels. 

At first it’s frightened and then it thinks the moulting is a 
nuisance. 

teacher: That’s good. The writer tells us how the lobster feels. 

If we had been told simply that she shed her skin every once 
in a while, it wouldn’t have been so interesting, would 
it? . . . Now what about the lobster’s going to school? 
Was that good? 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION (Continued) 195 

child: I think the idea of having the lobster go to school was good 

but I don’t see how it could study out of a book. 
teacher: I wondered about that, myself. It seemed to me the school 
was more like one for humans than one for fish. 
child: Yes, and a fish couldn’t learn our a, b, c’s. 

teacher: I shouldn’t imagine so, and if he could, what good would it 
do him? . . . Now, what would a lobster learn in a lobster 
school? 

child: He ought to learn about other kinds of fish, those that will 

eat him and those that won’t, and places to hide. 
teacher: Yes. What would he study in history? 
child: Probably, about all the famous lobsters that have lived 

before him and their wonderful deeds. 
teacher: I should think so. . . . There’s another thing in this that 
makes it seem more like a story concerning humans than 
lobsters. 

child: Their names are human names—Lucy Lobster and Johnny 

and Harry and Teddy and like that. 
teacher: Yes. Now listen to this—“The Story of Miss Weeny 
Mackerel.” Notice the names in it. 

THE STORY OF MISS WEENY MACKEREL. 

“Oh dear, oh dear,” said a baby mackerel trying to break through 
her egg, “this is dreadful. I have been trying and trying to get out 
of this for one whole minute, oh how I wish I could see the world.” 
Just then she heard a little crack and to her great surprise she was out 
swimming in the green water. 

“Oh, how wonderful to be alive,” said she as she sat down to rest. 
As she was sitting there and eating some moss she saw some more eggs 
hatching. 

“Oh!” she cried in delight, “they are my brothers and sisters.” 
And she swam to meet them. 

“How do you do, sister?” they asked as they greeted her. 

“Very well, thank you,” she answered. “What beautiful fish you 
are.” “ Come,” she said, “we will swim a bit.” So off they swam and 
they met Parson Salmon. 

“What fine mackerel you are,” he said. “And what are your 
names pray tell?” 

“Names? Why we haven’t any,” they said. 


196 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


“You poor little things! I shall name you.” Then Parson Salmon 
took a coral Bible from his pocket and looking at them said: 

“ Come, my children, the oldest shall be named first.” Then taking 
our heroine by the fin said: 

“You, my dear, shall be called Miss Weeny Mackerel for you are 
so small and dainty.” And he named the others Silver, Fleet Swim¬ 
mer, Sleepy Eyes and Mossie Tail Mackerel. How happy they were 
to have such lovely names. After the ceremonies were over they had 
a wonderful luncheon. The brothers went on a hunt to get smaller 
fish while the sister waited at home. They brought baby herrings, 
baby pilchards and baby sprats, while Parson Salmon went home for 
Mrs. Salmon who loaned the little mackerels her new pearl dishes and 
her fine woven seaweed tablecloth. Oh! What a wonderful time they 
had. Mrs. Salmon taught Weeny how to set the table and how to 
prepare food. 

The babies grew into wonderful fish and loved one another very 
much, but sometimes they didn’t obey Weeny. 

One day they went in shore to follow herrings, pilchards and sprats 
for food. Weeny not being as fast as the others was behind. She saw 
Mrs. Bessy Mackerel very much upset and swimming very fast. 

“What is the matter?” Weeny asked. 

“Oh what shall I do!” she said in great distress, “my baby has been 
caught in a wall of little holes and he can’t get out. He tries to but 
it is moving slowly upward and he can’t! Oh my poor little boy! 
My poor little boy!” And she burst into tears. 

“I wish I could help you,” said Weeny. 

“You can’t help me,” said Mrs. Mackerel, “but you can save 
your brothers and sisters. Swim quickly and tell them not to swim 
in shore or they will be caught also.” 

“I will, I will,” said Weeny, but as I said before she was not a fast 
swimmer. She swam with all her might and could see them in the 
distance. At last she was near enough for them to hear her. 

“Stop!” she called, “or you will be killed!” They all stopped but 
Sleepy Eyes who was very disobedient. 

“Do stop,” said Weeny between her tears, “for Weeny knows 
best.” But he swam on. 

“I will do no harm,” he said. But he could say no more for he had 
his head in the wall also. 

How bitterly the mackerels cried. That evening they could not 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION (Continued) 197 

eat their supper and when they went to bed Weeny made them promise 
they would always obey her. Then they all said a little prayer for 
Sleepy Eyes and went to bed with heavy hearts. 

Weeny lived to be older than the rest and she raised two hundred 
thousand (200,000) little mackerels. 

When she died her name was remembered for bringing up such 
wonderful and useful fish. 

The End. 

teacher: How many of you like the names that Parson Salmon 
gives the little mackerels better than those in the lobster 
story? 

(Almost all the children raised their hands) . . . 

What else did you like in it? 
child: The pearl dishes and the seaweed tablecloth. 

another child: Calling the fish net a “wall of little holes.” 
teacher: Why was that very good? 

child: Because that’s the way it would probably look to the 

little fish. 

teacher: Was there anything poor in this story? 
child : Mrs. Salmon shouldn’t have said “ Oh, my poor little boy! ” 

And there was one name—Mrs. Bessy Mackerel. 
teacher: True. But otherwise, it was a good story, wasn’t it? . . . 
Now, here’s one about “Mrs. Elly Eel.” 

Mrs. Elly Eel. 

My name is Mrs. Elongated Eel, but I am called Mrs. Elly Eel for 
short. 

I live in a little spring in the mountains. My home is a little nook 
with a rock in front of it covered with mud, the mud is the nicest part 
of the house. The cool water from the melting snow on the mountain 
top is constantly flowing over the rock. I have an ideal site for a 
home and it is the envy of all the other eels in that part of the brook. 

One day my friend, Mrs. Slippy Eel and I were talking together, 
just gossiping when I chanced to say: 

“To-morrow I shall start down stream to lay my eggs. I hope 
I don’t get caught. Last year Slimy went with me but this year I 
must go alone, oh dear such is life,” sighed Mrs. Elly Eel. 

“If you wish I will go with you,” gallantly responded Mrs. Slippy 


198 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Eel, “I have no wish to stay here. If you will permit me to accompany 
you I will be very much pleased.” 

“Indeed I should like to have you go with me, please be on time. 
I shall leave at the moment that the first bird carols tomorrow morn¬ 
ing.” 

With that they parted. 

Next morning they were gliding swiftly down the brook chatting 
gayly as they went. 

Suddenly Mrs. Slippy cried, “Stop! Stop! Don’t go any farther. 
There are some human fish trying to catch us in a piece of cloth with 
holes in it.” I believe humans call them weirs. 

Mrs. Elly Eel did stop. If she had gone any farther she would 
have been entangled in the meshes and then all would have been over. 
A chill went through her long slimy body. 

They waited a long time until the darkness started to creep over 
them. The human fishes started to pack up their belongings and 
went away taking everything but the weir, but these fishermen were 
ignorant, they did not know that eels can travel over land, so as soon 
as the humans had gone they were flippety flopping over the rocks. 
The two eels went past the weir and continued their swim down the 
streamlet. 

Finally they reached the salty ocean and Mrs. Elly Eel immediately 
laid her eggs and guarded them carefully while poor Mrs. Slippy who 
was more adventurous went swimming around and was caught. 

One day as Mrs. Elly Eel was guarding her precious eggs she saw 
a squid swimming around near her. 

The temptation was great, should she leave her eggs and go after 
the squid? Yes she would and off she swam in hot pursuit. 

She caught the squid and was returning victoriously when she saw 
but three eggs left. While she was gone Mr. Salmon had kidnapped 
her children. 

She was so stunned she forgot to eat the squid and it sank to the 
bottom of the ocean. 

“Oh dear” she sighed, “I wish I was not so headstrong.” Mrs. 
Elly Eel returned up the stream to her home of mud and stone with 
only three children left. It was to these little baby eels she told this 
story and concluded it with, “I have learned a lesson and I hope I have 
taught you one through this story and if you want to live a happy 
life never leave your eggs in order to catch a smelt.” 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION (Continued) 199 

child: That was very good because it tells all about the way the 

eel lives and how it goes down to the sea to lay its eggs, 
and about the weir. 

another child: I liked it when it said, “a chill went through her 
long, slim body,” and they “went flippety flopping over 
the rock.” 

another child : But that isn’t right, is it? Eels can’t go over rocks. 
the writer: Yes, they can. The encyclopedia said that if there is 
anything in the stream to prevent their going on, they 
crawl around it over land. 

teacher: Did you like the way in which the writer told the fact that 
salmon eat eel’s eggs? (Most of the children nodded 
assent.) 

So the lesson continued until all the stories had been dealt 
with and all the good points commented on. 

III. IMAGINATIVE WRITING 
B. Identification 

Yet nearer our goal, the interpretation of life through 
exercise of the imagination, is the composition in which the 
child identifies himself with some other person in circum¬ 
stances different from his own. 

Sometimes the children in the Seventh Grade are given 
a shadowy suggestion of a plot and left to work out an ex¬ 
citing situation and show the emotional reaction of the 
characters. In one such lesson the problem given was to 
surprise the reader. The teacher read the following sen¬ 
tences: “John was very much frightened. He dared not 
turn around in the darkness to see what was following him.” 

The children were then asked to think out a very brief 
story which would explain the mysterious follower in some 
interesting and surprising way. 

Several children were allowed to recite before any criti¬ 
cisms were given. After the class had told what they 


200 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

thought of these recitations, whether or not they consid¬ 
ered them interesting, how they might have been improved 
and the like, the teacher called their attention to the need 
of maintaining proportion amongst details. Many chil¬ 
dren in the Fifth and Sixth Grades develop an unconscious 
feeling for balance in their written work. By the time 
they reach the Seventh Grade they are old enough to face 
this technical point definitely and this exercise affords a 
suitable opportunity. 

After this preliminary lesson the class was ready to write 
a short surprise story suggested by the following paragraph: 
“One dark, stormy night I sat in my room reading. Sud¬ 
denly I heard a peculiar noise.” The discussion which 
followed the writing of the “stormy-night” episodes is 
given in full. The teacher read two of them and called for 
comparative criticism. 

The Piano Player. 

The wind moaned, and blew through the trees outside, shaking 
and rattling their branches. Not a star could be seen, the night was 
pitch dark, and the rain beat heavily against my windowpane. I 
could hear it steadily drip, drip, drip, from my roof. 

As I sat reading, deeply absorbed in my book, I suddenly became 
aware that somebody was playing the piano. This was very unusual, 
as no one was in the house but myself. I shivered as I listened to the 
notes, which were softly being played, sometimes two at a time, then 
a pause, only to begin again. All at once I heard a thump, and then 
a long wailing “me-ow” came from the music room, and I knew it 
was Minnie the cat. 


One Dark Stormy Night. 

One dark stormy night in November I was sitting in my room 
reading a book. Suddenly I heard a peculiar noise. It sounded as 
though somebody was calling for help. For a moment my heart 
stood still. I was all alone in the house as my parents were visiting 
some friends and the maid was out. Again came that peculiar sound, 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION (Continued) 201 

faint but distinct. I opened my door and looked down the hall. 
There was nobody there. Suddenly in bold tones I called out, “Who 
is there?” There was dead silence. I went back into my room and 
picked up a big pair of scissors that was lying on the table. By this 
time the noise had grown louder and louder. I became suddenly very 
brave and walked down the hall calling out in loud tones, “If there 
is anybody there answer me.” Just as I said that I walked into the 
living-room, turned on the light and saw caught between the table 
and the wall my little black cat. I lifted her out, gave her a good 
scolding for frightening me so and then took her back to my room to 
save any more trouble. 

teacher: Which do you like the better? 
class: Number two. 

teacher: Why? 

child : Because there’s more of a surprise in it. In number two the 

noise is made interesting. You can’t help wondering what 
it was, whereas in one the writer tells right away that it was 
the piano. 

teacher: Yes. There’s more suspense in two. Listen to this com¬ 
position. 

The Mysterious Squeal. 

One dark stormy night in November I was sitting in my room 
reading. I was alone in the apartment, but was wholly unconscious 
of the fact, as I was absorbed in one of Mrs. Seaman’s fascinating 
mystery stories. Suddenly I heard a loud shriek, followed by a 
long squeal, which stopped very abruptly. I was too frightened to 
move at first, but when I finally collected my thoughts I was as 
helpless as before, because what could I do? Ah! I knew! I would 
take a knife and go from one room to another, searching for the cause 
of the shriek; but on second thought I decided that the plan was 
foolish. What was the use of the knife? If somebody let out a shriek 
like that, they certainly weren’t going to attack me! I would be 
brave! I would go weaponless—; but suddenly the wail came again 
interrupting the train of brave thoughts. This time it took all of the 
brave thoughts out of me. I just sat still for a few moments, and then 
my curiosity overcame my fears. I ran into the hall, but there was 
nothing there. From there I ran into the kitchen, and here, right 


202 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

before my eyes was the solution of the mystery! There was a mouse 
caught in a trap by its tail! 

The teacher paused at the word mystery. Then said to 
the children, “Each of you guess what made the noise.” 
When she read the last sentence, “ There was a mouse 
caught in a trap by its tail!” incredulous smiles spread over 
the children’s faces. 
teacher: Well? 

child: The ending spoils it. You think the noise is going to come 

from something big or unusual, and then it turns out to be 
nothing but a little mouse. 

teacher: How does the writer manage to produce this dissatisfac¬ 
tion? 

child: He makes too much of the noise. And besides, the noise is 

impossible. ... A mouse can’t shriek and wail. It can 
only squeak. 

teacher: In other words, the composition is top-heavy with details. 

The balance and proportion are not good. Now listen to 
this composition and see how it compares. 

The Mysterious Sound. 

It was a dark and stormy night when the lightning flashed and 
the thunder rolled. I sat in my room reading the book Tales of Mys¬ 
tery and Imagination by Poe. I was very much interested, excited 
and afraid, for I was reading about the villain who had gotten into 
the house, and with a big knife in his hand was going up to kill the 
master of the house. 

All of a sudden I heard a little squeaky noise as if somebody was 
trying to force open the door. I listened intently. Perhaps it was my 
imagination. I read on. 

Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! 

What was that noise? 

Tramp! T ramp! T ramp! 

I was expecting to see the villain with a flashing knife in his hand. 
Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! 

I took out my pocketknife and flourished it in the air, saying to 
myself I would do the same as those brave heroes whom I had heard 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION (Continued) 203 

so much about, who had fought a whole troop single-handed. Finally, 
gathering all my strength and courage I said in what I thought was a 
very loud voice, but which really sounded like a mumble: 

“Who is there!” 

For an answer I heard 
T ramp! T ramp! T ramp! 

I wondered why it took the villain or whoever it was so long to 
walk from the place where he was to my room. So gathering my 
courage again, I proceeded to walk towards the dining-room where I 
thought the noise came from. I walked cautiously, ready to turn and 
run back. Finally, I got to the dining-room and putting the light 
on, I looked around. At last, to my great relief, I saw that one of 
the dining-room doors hit against the other door and it was this which 
caused that noise. The wind did the pushing. 

child: It’s much better than the others because it has an original 

idea for the noise. It isn’t a dog or a cat or a mouse. 
another child: It keeps you in suspense wondering what the noise 
is. 

teacher: Are you satisfied when you find out? 
class: Yes. 

teacher: What is the secret? How is it done? 
child: Well, somehow the details are told in such a way that it all 

sounds possible. 

The matter of proportion is not, of course, the only one 
brought out in connection with such an assignment. The 
last statement led to a discussion of definiteness and its 
value: 

teacher: “Sounds possible,” you say. How many of you agree 
that this last one sounds more possible and convincing 
than any of the others? 

(Most of the children raised their hands.) 
teacher: Is there any other reason for it besides the matter of good 
proportion? 

child: The way he describes the noise—“Tramp. Tramp. 

Tramp.” 


204 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

teacher: Why is that better than saying merely “I heard a pecu¬ 
liar noise” or “I heard a little squeaky noise as if somebody 
was trying to force open the door”? 

child: Because you can almost hear the sound when he says, 

“Tramp. Tramp. Tramp.” 

teacher: Yes. The latter is more definite. The more definite you 
can make your ideas the better. But in the first composi¬ 
tion I read to you the person said, “I suddenly became 
aware that somebody was playing the piano.” That’s more 
definite than “a peculiar noise,” and so is number two when 
it says, “It sounded as though somebody was calling for 
help.” 

child: Yes, but it’s too definite; it gives the whole thing away and 

there’s nothing to wonder about. 

teacher: Yes. Then the idea is to be definite without being too 
definite. That isn’t easy, is it? Notice that writer number 
two says first, “I heard a peculiar noise,” and then makes it 
more definite by saying, “It sounded as though somebody 
was calling for help.” The next time she hears the noise, 
she calls it a “peculiar sound” and adds two ideas, “faint” 
but “distinct.” The third time she says, “the noise had 
grown louder and louder.” 

Compare her way of describing the noise with that of 
the third writer. He didn’t say “peculiar noise” at all. 
He made it more definite by saying, “All of a sudden I 
heard a little squeaky noise as if somebody was trying to 
force open the door.” And then he made it still more 
definite by using a word which sounds like the noise it¬ 
self—“Tramp. Tramp. Tramp.” Which is the best of 
all? 

class: “Tramp. Tramp. Tramp.” 

child: But didn’t we have to say “I heard a peculiar noise?” 

You wrote it on the board as one of the sentences for home¬ 
work. 

teacher: Oh, no. If you can better the statement as this last writer 
did, there is no objection—so long as you keep the 
idea. 

child: Must the sentences come at the beginning? 

teacher: Did they in the compositions I read to you? 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION (Continued) 205 

another child: No. In number two they did, but in number three 
and four they were separated. 

teacher: Put them wherever they seem to you to express best what 
you want to say. 

There’s another interesting point in these composi¬ 
tions that is worth noticing. The first writer says merely 
“I sat reading.” The second says “I was sitting in my 
room reading a book.” The third says “I was absorbed 
in one of Mrs. Seaman’s fascinating mystery stories. And 
the last one says “I sat in my room reading the book Tales 
of Mystery and Imagination by Poe.” Which is the best? 
class : The last. 
teacher: Why? 

child: Because it’s more definite. 

teacher: Yes. Again you see that definite ideas are the best. This 
has a bearing on something else, too. Did you note how 
very courageous all these people were? How they took up 
knives or scissors and marched bravely in search of the 
noise? (Class smiled and nodded.) Which one’s courage 
seemed most convincing? 
class: The last. 

teacher: Why? (In the pause which followed the teacher read the 
last one again.) 

child: Because he tells you that he’s been reading one of Poe’s 

books, and that his imagination was all excited. He was 
just reading about a villain who was going to kill someone 
with a knife, so when he took out his pocketknife, it doesn’t 
seem so foolish. 

teacher: Good. By telling us definitely what state of mind he was 
in and why, he makes us believe more easily what he did. 
So much for definiteness! . . . Now as to the endings of 
your stories. Listen to these three endings. 

I was on the verge of collapsing when I opened the door and in 
bounded my collie puppie, Spot. I laughed and cried at the same 
time with Spot licking my face all the time. On thinking it over I 
thought how childish and scared I was. Spot had been frightened 
by the storm and as he saw the light, he knew I was awake and sought 
for company. 


206 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


. . . and saw caught between the table and the wall my little black 
cat. I lifted her out, gave her a good scolding for frightening me so 
and then took her back to my room to save any more trouble. 

There was a mouse caught in a trap by its tail! 

child: The third is the best, because after you’ve told what the 

noise is, you don’t want to add a lot of unnecessary explana¬ 
tion. 

teacher: Do you object to the one sentence added in number two? 
child: No. But the first one adds too much. 

teacher: It seems as if the explanation of the noise, or the climax, 
makes the best ending. 

The matter of originality is bound to come up. 

child: I tried to think of some original noise to put into my com¬ 

position and it’s very hard. 

teacher: Yes, not everyone can be original, and don’t try too hard. 

Remember composition number two which you thought 
very well written even though the noise came from a cat. 
Listen to this one: 

Mysterious Sounds. 

It was a very dark night. No stars were to be seen and the moon 
hid itself as though it would fear to come out alone on a night so dark, 
so still. I awoke hearing some strange sounds of our piano. My heart 
began to beat very quickly. I sat up and listened, I could hear noth¬ 
ing. Thinking that I had only dreamed it I decided to go to sleep. 
Again I heard the strange passages of the piano, I heard clearly, I did 
not dream. Immediately came to me the thought that our piano 
was near the window, if a thief should climb up the window the first 
thing he would step on would be the piano. I left the piano open, 
the window was open also. I quickly picked up my teddy-bear, 
making him growl his loudest, and with a cry “Thieves! Thieves!” 
I woke up everyone in the house. I explained what I had heard but 
as nobody else heard anything and I kept on saying that there were 
thieves in our house, my parents thought that I was sick. In a minute 
my mother was measuring my temperature, daddy calling up our 
doctor, when again the sounds were heard. This time we all heard 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION (Continued) 207 

it, ran into the room, and ... I saw my own, dear, little pussy 
mildly walking and running about the keys of the piano. 

teacher: The noise in this is again made by the cat, but what is 
there original in it? 

child: The idea of thieves and that her parents treat her as if 

she were sick. 

teacher: You see, you can take a commonplace noise and write it 
up in an original way. The result is just as interesting. 

In an oral exercise one Seventh Grade was asked to de¬ 
scribe some scene or incident of a visit to New York City, 
each of them impersonating an individual ignorant of the 
city and its ways. The problem was to make the descrip¬ 
tion interesting to an audience entirely familiar with the 
scene itself by reflecting the surprise of the inexperienced 
observer. 

One girl in very cleverly sustained, provincial dialect, 
told a story about calling in several offices of a big building 
to inquire after a cousin who was employed somewhere in 
the great city. 

The argument ensuing was whether it was correct for the 
distinguished gentlemen in the offices to be represented as 
replying in the crude dialect of the unlettered narrator. 
Several declared this to be faulty. The story-teller, how¬ 
ever, stoutly maintained that the narrator spoke his dialect 
because he knew no other language, and naturally could 
not change when quoting other people. Such discussions 
are often provocative of much serious thought. 

History affords an endless number of opportunities for 
lessons in identification. Henry Hudson is always an appeal¬ 
ing figure. After a certain Sixth Grade group had studied 
about him, they were shown the sad picture of him and his 
little son set adrift to die on Hudson Bay. They tried to 
express in writing what his thoughts must have been. The 


208 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


effort helped to make them feel poignantly how cruelly the 
world has treated some of those to whom it owes much. 

Usually after a group has studied the colonial period, 
they write compositions in the form of letters (and this is 
the only type of letter ever given to the children as an aca¬ 
demic exercise) in which each imagines himself or herself an 
English boy or girl living in the year 1650. Circumstances 
have made it necessary to leave the English home and go to 
live with a relative in Massachusetts. After the child has 
been there for a while, he writes a letter to a very dear friend 
in the English town where he lived, telling about his new 
home. From a general outline suggested by the class and 
written on the board by the teacher, each child makes his 
own outline. A typical outline would read, 

The voyage over. 

Description of relative’s home. 

How people earn a living. 

What child does to occupy time. 

Pleasures the people have: “bees.” 

Indians. 

No child is allowed to begin his composition until his out¬ 
line has received the approval of the teacher. The next 
step is to see that all statements are accurate. The maps 
in history and geography books are used to locate a definite 
place for the English home and a definite place for the 
colonial home. The journey must be carefully traced and 
the length of time it would take known. Alice Morse 
Earle's Home Life in Colonial Days 4 is a most satisfactory 
source of information for the children’s use. A discussion 
of the language to be used brings out the idea that no slang 
or modern idioms must be introduced. How the people of 
those times talked is shown in a real colonial letter read by 
4 The Macmillan Co., 1898. 


ENGLISH COMPOSITION (Continued) 209 

the teacher. This composition affords freedom for the 
imagination, circumscribed only by the necessities of his¬ 
toric accuracy. 

Always the American Indian becomes very familiar to the 
children through their study of history. Their point of 
view is, of course, that of the white man, regarding the In¬ 
dian’s appearance and character, since that is the point of 
view of the historian. How the white man must have im¬ 
pressed the Indian is another matter. Often a class is inter¬ 
ested in the attempt to express his ideas and feelings. 

One class was taken to the Museum of the New York 
Historical Society to study the early history of the city. 

Before they left the museum the children were told that 
they would be expected to write a composition about some¬ 
thing they had seen that day. They were free to pick out 
any object which they had especially enjoyed, and to write 
a description, a story, a poem—whatever they liked. They 
were told that they might scatter and each study more 
carefully his chosen object. 

Two children stood long before a life-sized marble statue 
of an Indian, entitled “The Last of His Tribe.” The face 
is full of sadness, he is evidently thinking deeply. So were 
those two children, as is evident from the papers they 
handed in. One crudely, one in language of unusual beauty 
for a child, identified himself with a sadly ill-used people: 

An Indian’s Thoughts. 

Shall I submit to the white 
man’s way 

And work gath’ring corn 
and hay, 

Or shall I fight for my 
wild life, 

Great Spirit, shall I use 
my knife? 


210 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


O, Great Chief, what do you 
advise 

As I cannot call a man 
more wise, 

Shall I go out and fight to¬ 
night, 

Or do what they declare 
the right? 

The Last of His Tribe. 

He sits alone in the hall of a great museum. His bow and arrows 
lie neglected at his feet and his head is on his arms, for he is thinking 
deeply. Many people look at him as they pass and wonder of what 
he is thinking. Are his thoughts about the hunt? Is he thinking about 
war with another tribe? Is he thinking about a canoe trip up one 
of the rivers that flow past his home? 

No, his thoughts are about the great change that has come about 
since he roamed the forests free, how he used to shoot the moose and 
deer on this very spot, how he used to fish in the streams that were 
once his. He remembers also how Henry Hudson and his ship, the 
“Half Moon,” sailed up the river that now bears his name and how 
the Dutch bought the island of Manhattan from his people for a few 
beads and trinkets. “How foolish we were,” he thinks, “to give up 
our hunting grounds to the white men, who gave us so little in return.” 
He remembers how he and his tribe greeted Henry Hudson and gave 
him and his companions food and shelter and how in return his people 
were driven from one place to another by the white men until only 
a few of them are left in this great country. 

He remembers the prosperous settlement that grew up in the land 
that was once his home. The white men of other lands came and 
settled on the island and after many years it became a great city by 
the name New York. 

He still sits in a great museum, his bow and arrows neglected at 
his feet, thinking how times have changed since the coming of the 
palefaces. And he is the last of his tribe! 


CHAPTER IX 


MASTERY OF CERTAIN COMMON TOOLS 

Throughout the foregoing pages, we have constantly 
taken for granted that pupils have mastered the funda¬ 
mental tools for acquiring knowledge. Every upper grade 
and high school teacher knows that this is an unwarranted 
assumption. Throughout the elementary grades there 
must be continuous emphasis upon arithmetical processes, 
penmanship, spelling, and most of all upon reading tech¬ 
nique. If little space is given to these pure practice sub¬ 
jects it is not because we belittle their importance, but be¬ 
cause so much has been done for us by experts that there 
is no need of our exposition. Progress has been made 
toward the scientific construction of textbooks in the tool 
subjects, progress based upon demonstrated facts, for 
extensive experimentation is the only method for this field. 
It is essential for every progressive teacher to keep herself 
abreast of the results of such experimentation in order that 
she may use the drill methods which are proved to be most 
effective. Many otherwise strong teachers err because 
they allow themselves to regard this practice work in 
formal processes as irksome. Incidentally children do not 
so regard it. The spiritual or aesthetic appeal of literature, 
our delight in helping childish minds to open to the great 
human problems presented to them in books, must not 
divert us from recognition of the hours which may be pro¬ 
cured for such student pursuits by effective methods of 
reading. We must recognize that training and drilling are 
211 


212 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

as important in the attainment of even an idealistic literary 
purpose as are development and discussion. 

At first thought, indeed, it may seem that study means 
the learning, weighing, and application of ideas , and there¬ 
fore, that teaching how to study connotes a guiding of the 
pupil in these processes only. But since swift, accurate 
handling of the tools of knowledge is a fundamental pre¬ 
requisite to the acquisition of knowledge and since we 
recognize that drill forced upon a child is not effective drill, 
that practice often makes imperfect, that there are better 
and poorer methods of self-drill, we see that to enlist a 
child’s intelligent interest in drilling himself by the best 
methods is in reality one means of teaching him how to 
study. He must, to be sure, master certain techniques, 
but most important of all is it for him to become familiar 
with and master the wonderful mechanism of his own mind 
by means of which he can acquire all needed techniques. 

ARITHMETICAL PROCESSES 

The literature of drill methods is always overweighted 
with arithmetic. While we have felt real enthusiasm in 
developing a procedure of our own, we feel less need for 
promulgating it than we do in the case of procedures in 
less exploited subjects. It can be briefly stated. 

All possible details of the processes in elementary arith¬ 
metic have been listed and an elaborate system of diagnos¬ 
tic and review tests and practice exercises has been formu¬ 
lated and mimeographed. As soon as it is discovered that a 
given child is ignorant of a certain process or inaccurate in 
its performance, he is assigned exercises in that process in 
his “prescription folder ” He works at these exercises, con¬ 
sulting answers when so inclined and with no supervi¬ 
sion. When he has completed enough examples of this 


MASTERY OF CERTAIN COMMON TOOLS 213 


kind to consider it a safe risk, he asks for a test upon the 
process. If he makes a practically perfect score he is re¬ 
leased for the next process. If his test paper shows errors, 
he must take more exercises and be given a duplicate test. 
In this way, every child is working on what he himself 
needs. During these quiet working periods the teacher can 
devote a few minutes of individual instruction to the chil¬ 
dren who cannot otherwise profitably attack their practice 
exercises. 

During other periods the class works together on prob¬ 
lems of value for their own content, problems dealing with 
geography or history materials, or with topics studied in 
hygiene or with those uppermost in current events. 1 The 
answer itself, that is, the content, is the goal of prime im¬ 
portance and is the subject of class discussion. However, 
any child failing in the solution of a problem through in¬ 
accurate calculation, will find the particular process at 
issue in his “prescription folder.” 

FORMAL ENGLISH 

The technicalities of written composition, the use of 
capitals, punctuation, etc., are considered as tools needed 
by an author in making his ideas clear to his readers. 
Thoughts are committed to writing in order that they may 
be read. Therefore, the effect upon the reader is para¬ 
mount. 

We try to keep uppermost in our minds and in the minds 
of the children a consciousness that certain elemental 
faults are to be avoided, not because they are faults, but 
because they do not give satisfaction in expressing ideas. 
This emphasis on what gives satisfaction and what does 
not is more productive of results than drill in definitions 
1 See pp. 131-136. 


214 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

such as, “A sentence is a group of words expressing a com¬ 
plete thought,” and “A paragraph is a group of sentences 
dealing with one topic.” 

It is not expected that the children will leave the ele¬ 
mentary department sufficiently conscious of the principles, 
methods, and tools to be used in literary composition to 
apply them all independently and at all times. Even the 
use of complete sentences cannot be predicted. “I do not 
believe that any English teacher can send a class into the 
Eighth Grade, all the members of which will always use 
complete sentences. It is a sense and must be developed 
throughout all the grades. ” 

This feeling for correct usage in the matter of technical 
details grows slowly and its growth cannot be hastened by 
tiresome insistence and the learning of many rules. An 
English teacher who undertook some work in high school 
after having taught exclusively in elementary grades for 
several years, says: 

I realize now how much time I have wasted in the past in correct¬ 
ing compositions, marking every mistake, and how much of the chil¬ 
dren’s time I have wasted in having them correct all the mistakes. 
Now we concentrate on only one at a time. The children are ex¬ 
pected to criticize their own work in regard to this one point before 
handing in their papers; it is made a conscious aim, to study this 
one point. So point by point is definitely attacked, for the most part 
in short formal lessons, the results being criticized in class. Then in 
their compositions, the children are held responsible for only those 
technical matters which have been so taken up in class. And these 
are not many. It seems reasonable to expect that the habit of self- 
criticism will develop in time. 

We follow this practice of separating almost entirely the 
composition writing from drill in technical matters not only 
to help to keep clear in the children’s minds that form is 
subordinate to thought, but because experience has taught 


MASTERY OF CERTAIN COMMON TOOLS 215 


us that when children are about to write compositions and 
are filled with the ideas they wish to express, it is almost 
impossible to interest them in technical matters. If forced 
to attend to them at such a time the children lose interest 
in the creative work and do not gain interest in the 
technique. 

Technicalities can be made interesting when frankly 
regarded as tools to be understood and mastered. It is not 
enough for the teacher to be conscious of this aim. As was 
said above, we must “enlist the child’s intelligent interest 
in drilling himself by the best methods.” 

There are times when the teacher foresees the need for 
the knowledge of some particular point. For instance, sup¬ 
pose the first composition proposed for the Sixth Grade is the 
personification of two objects and a conversation between 
them. The teacher feels sure that the children will be 
rusty in the use of quotation marks, the vacation having 
elapsed since they were used in the Fifth Grade. A lesson 
period is devoted to review and drill in this form of punctua¬ 
tion, the children being told that they are soon to write a 
composition in which quotation marks will be especially 
needed. 

A day or two later the children write their stories. 
Before they begin, they are reminded of the drill in the use 
of quotation marks and told that when they finish, they 
should look over their compositions with this point espe¬ 
cially in mind. The teacher will find mistakes overlooked 
by the children. Instead of placing a mark by the error, 
she puts a p in the margin, and the child must hunt for 
the faulty punctuation. 

Sometimes a set of compositions shows a weakness com¬ 
mon to the majority of the children, and one which has not 


216 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

been anticipated by the teacher. Then the matter is dis¬ 
cussed with the children and the needed drill given. 

In addition to these lessons, planned for special occasions, 
there is provision for systematic drill in the use of the 
“English tools,” which are to be especially considered 
during the year. 

A system of diagnostic and review tests and drill exer¬ 
cises in formal English, similar in construction to those 
employed in arithmetic, has been formulated and mimeo¬ 
graphed. Here are included all the simple sentence struc¬ 
tures, and important punctuation marks which elementary 
children are supposed to master. The working details are 
precisely the same as in the case of arithmetical processes. 

The English discussion periods are thus freed for the 
development and criticism of oral and written productions, 
which are considered for their literary merit. Errors made 
in these compositions are met again as “prescriptions” in 
the formal English periods. 

SPELLING 

The words for the term are dictated to the class before 
any are studied. Each child then studies only those which 
he has missed and when ready has his own list dictated 
individually. When he has written correctly all the words 
of his list two or three times, first for a classmate, then 
for his teacher, and then for the principal or her secretary, 
he is released from spelling study, unless recalled by words 
misspelled in written exercises. 

Use of Time Saved from Formal Processes 

As the term advances, several children in each class are 
freed from formal English or arithmetic periods. They 
have mastered the processes considered essential for their 


MASTERY OF CERTAIN COMMON TOOLS 217 


grade. These periods, together possibly with time saved 
from spelling, constitute in the aggregate a good deal of 
time, although it is rarely that one child earns his release 
from all three types of work. 

Unless a child so released is claimed by some other 
teacher in whose subject he is weak, he is at liberty to 
select his own occupation for these free periods. Art and 
handcraft projects are selected, plays are dramatized, 
stories and poems are written, and many children choose 
from lists posted on bulletin boards some topic in history, 
geography, or science, and delve into it more deeply than 
class time will permit. 

DICTIONARY LESSONS 

The dictionary is a tool needed by every student above 
the Fourth Grade. This fact has long been recognized and 
children have been provided with dictionaries, but very 
few teachers have realized that a dictionary is an extremely 
complex tool, and that children must be definitely taught 
how to use it. 

It is quite astonishing, how clumsily even upper grade 
or junior high school pupils approach the looking up of a 
word after they have turned the pages to the initial letter. 

We cannot too often remind ourselves of the danger of 
assuming that a certain skill or body of knowledge will 
suddenly and spontaneously descend upon children without 
their having been instructed therein. 

There should be dictionary lessons at least through the 
Seventh Grade, and probably into the high school. A 
series of lessons used successfully for several years, will be 
given somewhat in detail. 

To many generations of children, the dictionary has been 
a bugbear; frequent use of it a thing to be avoided. We 


218 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

have attempted to invest it with interest from the beginning 
by making the initial lesson in its use more or less of a game. 
The teacher describes as vividly as possible an old-fashioned 
corncrib, the little building with its slatted sides, standing 
on upright logs, topped with inverted tin pans—to keep 
out rats and mice. She tells of the great mass of ears of 
corn thrown in helter-skelter, to be stored there until 
needed. Then she says: 

“ Suppose you knew that somewhere in that store house there was 
a black ear of corn—how would you like the task of finding it among 
the many thousands? ” 

The children see what an impossible undertaking that 
would be: 

“I know a storehouse filled with quite as many objects, thousands 
upon thousands of them, each one much smaller than an ear of corn 
and all so carefully placed that any one can be found quite easily in 
a very few minutes. The whole storehouse is so small that I can hold 
it in my hand. Now what do you suppose it is? ” 

It is not recorded that any child ever guessed the riddle. 
All are immensely amused when they are told that the 
storehouse is a dictionary. 

Then we proceed to find out how the storehouse is 
arranged, and how to hunt for an object in it. Of course 
some of the children think they know all about it, and are 
a bit scornful at first. But it soon develops that some of 
them do not know the letters in alphabetical order and we 
sing them through in the “good old-fashioned way. ” (We 
have found children in higher grades who were much 
handicapped in the use of the dictionary because of never 
having learned the alphabet.) The most scornful seldom 
get through the first lesson without finding that they do 
not yet know all that there is to learn. 


MASTERY OF CERTAIN COMMON TOOLS 219 


Having established the fact that the words are arranged 
in alphabetical order, the teacher requests the children to 
so arrange several words which she writes on the board; 
for example: 

tranquil 

albatross 

morose 

exult 

That completes the first lesson. 

The next day the children are led to discover that the 
second letters of the words also are alphabetically arranged, 
and are asked to list properly a group like the following: 

aid 

abyss 

accident 

aghast 

aerie 

afire 

admire 

A third exercise takes into consideration the third letters 
of the words, calling for the rearrangement for: 

absent 

abacas 

abed 

abundant 

aback 

By this time the children realize that alphabetical 
arrangement of all letters is considered in placing a word in 
the dictionary, and are ready to practice finding some 
short words. The definitions are not considered at this 
stage. We play a game, the object of which is to see who 
can locate the words most quickly. 


220 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


When the children have gained some facility in locating 
words, we begin to consider definitions. The wording of 
definitions is often obscure to the children. They need 
much assistance at first. 

The children will notice the diacritical marks, accents, 
and letters indicating parts of speech and will want to 
know what they mean. They should be briefly explained, 
but the children should not be expected to learn to use 
them. It is enough for them to find the spelling and 
meaning of a word. 

Fifth Grade children should not be expected to use the 
dictionary freely, it takes them too long to find a word. 
Brief exercises in looking up words such as are described 
above should be given rather frequently. When studying 
independently, history, literature, geography, or the like, 
and when writing compositions, the children sometimes 
should consult the dictionary, rather than the teacher, for 
the definition or spelling of a word. The habit must 
grow upon them through the grades. 

In the Fifth Grade, the children should not be expected 
to look up verbs ending in ed , ing, etc. They should be 
given the infinitive form, and told that those endings make 
different forms. Suppose the word to be looked up is 
ascended. The teacher will write it on the board, draw a 
vertical line between the d and the e, and say: 

“Do not expect to find that whole word in the dictionary. You 
will find ascend. Ascended is a form of the word ascend. Take the 
word lift, for instance. We say, T lift the book now; I lifted it yes¬ 
terday; I am lifting it; he lifts it.’ The word is lift, and the ed, ing, 
and 5 at the end of it make different forms of the word. Now let us 
look up the word ascend.” 


MASTERY OF CERTAIN COMMON TOOLS 221 


In case of a word of double usage (noun-verb) the children 
should be told which to look for: 

“It is the first definition,” or “It is the second definition,” or “It 
is the noun or name—you will find an n after it,” or, “It is the verb 
or action word, you will find v. t. or v. i. after it. Verbs, or action 
words, are of two kinds, transitive and intransitive. It will be sev¬ 
eral years before you will be expected to understand what those 
terms mean. You need only to remember that v. t. and v. i. stand 
for words which show action, not for names. I shall tell you whether 
to look for the word preceded by v. t. or that preceded by v. i.” 2 

The teacher should see to it that all words looked up 
under her supervision are correctly pronounced, giving the 
pronunciation clearly herself. 

In the Sixth Grade, the children gain facility in locating 
words, but the process is still somewhat laborious. Only 
one new point is added,—namely, accent, which is taught 
in connection with exercises in writing poetry. 

By the time the children reach the Seventh Grade, a fair 
proportion of them voluntarily make considerable use of 
the dictionary and the great majority recognize it as a 
valuable tool, though some of them still find it somewhat 
difficult to use. 

In this grade, attention is called to diacritical marks, as 
a means of determining the exact sounds of the vowels, 
and the children are expected to find for themselves the 
pronunciation of many new words. The consonants with 
more than one sound must be considered at this time, and 
the children shown how to determine the sound in a given 
instance, as for example: gin (yin), gimlet (gimlet), cell 
(sel), camel (Earn'd). 

It is quite possible to interest children in the derivation 

2 We do not teach technical grammar in our elementary grades.. 


222 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

of words as given in an unabridged dictionary. They are 
often eager to know the history of a new word. “ Where 
did it come from?” “What did it mean originally?” 
Very few Seventh Grade children manipulate the cumber¬ 
some volume skillfully enough to make it practical to 
demand class study of derivations, but it is well for the 
teacher to encourage the interest by frequently giving them 
to the class. 


TEXTBOOK AIDS 

All textbooks contain certain aids which may be looked 
at in the light of tools to be used in gathering and in¬ 
terpreting information. The attention which is given to 
the understanding and use of such tools will be illustrated 
by a statement of what is done with the Seventh Grade 
geography texts. Similar methods are employed with other 
textbooks. 

The mastery of the tools of geography must begin 
before the use of the first textbook and continue with each 
new book placed in a pupil’s hands. 

Table of Contents, Index, Etc. 

In each of our grades we begin with a preliminary survey 
of the textbook. The teacher’s question, “How can we 
locate information in this book?” usually reveals some 
familiarity with the table of contents, appendix, index, 
and pronouncing vocabulary, so the treatment depends 
upon the advancement of the class. 

With a Seventh Grade, a brief review is all that is 
necessary. Attention is called to the difference between 
the table of contents (the consecutive arrangement of the 
main topics of the book) and the index (an alphabetical 
list of all places, products, processes, tools, etc., mentioned 


MASTERY OF CERTAIN COMMON TOOLS 223 

in the book). The children are led to see that the table 
of contents is useful mainly as an introduction, revealing 
the character of the book and its general plan. They are 
encouraged to consult tables of contents when selecting 
books for reference. The index is seen to be a tool which 
they will need to use very frequently in locating a number 
of facts. 

Appendix 

More time should be devoted to a survey of the kind of 
statistics in the Appendix. 

A Seventh Grade using for the first time McMurry and 
Parkins’ AdvcmcedGeography 3 were much interested in such 
tabulations as double columns of figures, for example: 

Population 
Area in Square Miles 
and 

Population in 1910 Population in 1920 
The data listed under the heading “ Growth of the 
Fifteen Largest Cities of the United States,” provoked 
many questions, some of which were answered by other 
pupils, for example: 

question: Why are there blanks for Los Angeles and San Francisco 
in 1800 and 1830? 

answer: California was not part of the United States then, so we 
have no official records of these cities for those dates. 
question: Why do some cities have a different number for each 
decade? Detroit is numbered 4 in 1920. It has these 
other numbers beside it, 23 in 1830, 14 in 1890, 13 in 1900, 
9 in 1910. 

answer: The city grew from the twenty-third place to the fourth 
place among American cities. 
question: Why did it grow so fast? 

answer: I think it was the automobile business that made it grow. 
3 McMurry and Parkins, Advanced Geography. The Macmillan Co. 


224 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


It is well to leave the study of the appendix while the 
interest is still keen so that the children will return volun¬ 
tarily to this section for needed data. 

Maps 

Seventh Grade children have been using maps for several 
years and are so familiar with many features that they 
need not be stressed, though some review may be desirable. 
One may be reasonably sure that they understand how 
mountains, rivers, cities, etc., are indicated. These things 
must be learned when maps are first used. A Seventh 
Grade teacher may assume, also, a working knowledge 
of the scale of miles. Very thorough drill in the use of 
such scales is given in the Fifth and Sixth Grades, for the 
scale must be used in order that the children may really 
understand it. In one Sixth Grade this was taken care 
of in mathematics in connection with parcel post problems . 4 

Certain other features will be developed as the need 
arises, for example, isotherms and isobars. 

In this preliminary survey of the new book, the aim is 
to direct the pupils’ attention to certain types of maps 
which are new to them and to lead them to appreciate 
their value as tools to be used while studying. A typical 
lesson is reported here: 

teacher: Find the map of South America. Raise your hands as 
soon as you find it—(Pause) Yes, John, what page? 
john: Figures 251 and 252 on pages 246 and 247. 

teacher: How did you find it so quickly? 
john: I looked in the Index for South America. 

teacher: Henry, you also found it. What was your method? 
henry: I turned to the Table of Contents. 
teacher: Mary, what did you do? 

4 See pp. 134-135. 


MASTERY OF CERTAIN COMMON TOOLS 225 


mary : I looked at the page headings because I knew that there was 

sure to be a map at the beginning of the part about South 
America. 

Mary had noticed the definite arrangement of the book 
by continents and she explained this to the class. By 
rapidly leafing through the book she could locate any 
continent in a few seconds and there at the beginning of the 
subject was the series of maps. The arrangement varies 
with the author and needs to be noted. This knowledge 
is in itself a tool. In the case of many books, Mary’s 
method is time-consuming. In general the Index is the 
most reliable tool for locating maps. For this particular 
book Mary’s method is very satisfactory. 

teacher: Now turn to those maps of South America and study the 
physical map for a few minutes. What do the colors mean? 
pupil: Green means lowlands—sea level to 1000 feet. The browns 

indicate mountains. 

Other questions helped the children in their attempt to 
gather information from the map, for example: 

How high are the Brazilian Highlands? The Andes? 

How are shallow waters indicated? Deserts? Swamps? Water¬ 
falls? 

When the children showed some facility in reading the 
physical map, they were asked to compare it with the 
political map and to state the difference between them. 
One child’s statement was especially concise: 

“The physical map shows how nature made it, and the political 
map shows the changes man has made, like railroads, cities, and 
boundaries of countries.” 

Someone added “canals” and referred to a map showing 
many of them, and another child discovered a map show¬ 
ing highways. 


226 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

A third type of map, combining physical and political 
features, was briefly discussed, as also were maps showing 
the distribution of population, temperature regions, annual 
rainfall, plant regions, and products. 

Such questions as the following brought out the signifi¬ 
cance of each type of map in studying a region: 

teacher: Notice the population map. Where do most of the people 
live? 

pupil: Along the coast. 

teacher: Why are there so few people in the Amazon basin? Does 
any other map help to answer that question? 
pupil: The temperature map shows it to be always hot in the 

Amazon basin, while it is cooler in the Andes. 
another pupil: On the “Plant Region Map,” it says, “Tropical 
forests—very little tillage in the Amazon basin.” 
teacher: Now, can anyone tell why such heavy forests grow there? 

Someone discovered that the rainfall map gave 80 or 
more inches of rainfall for that Amazon region. The great 
heat and moisture and the seasonal floods, referred to by 
the teacher, were seen to be reasons enough to halt the 
spread of population there. 

After such an introduction to the different types of maps, 
the children are expected to make use of them when 
studying independently. Sometimes their questions show 
that they have failed to do so. The teacher, instead of 
answering such questions, reminds the children that the 
books contain maps from which they can find the answers. 5 

Even with a Seventh Grade, such a survey of a new book 
will take at least two periods. As the work progresses, 
the pupils become acquainted with still other aids. 

6 In the study of history also much use is made of maps. Most modern 
history texts make provision for this map study. America in the Making , 
by Chadsey, Weinberg & Miller, D. C. Heath & Co., 1927, is especially 
valuable by reason of the explanatory notes connected with the maps. 


MASTERY OF CERTAIN COMMON TOOLS 227 


Diagrams 

Diagrams are studied with the subjects they illustrate. 
Special care is taken at first to see that the principle or 
process is understood by all. The diagram is usually more 
important than the reading matter, as it contains the 
matter in a nutshell. Often a pupil enlarges a diagram for 
class demonstration. For example, the cross section of a 
blast furnace lends itself to this purpose, different colors 
being used for coke, limestone, and iron ore. To explain 
this process becomes a topic recitation for one pupil. 

Such diagrams as those that show the flow of pig iron, or 
the relative position of gas and oil in oil wells, are self- 
explanatory. Children like to enlarge a cross section of a 
coal mine, or to prepare a sand-table demonstration of an 
irrigation project, or to show how the Great Glacier dammed 
a river valley and formed a lake. A child must understand 
a principle to give form to it. 

Graphs 

Many geographies are introducing graphs, and care must 
be taken to teach pupils their meaning as this knowledge 
cannot be assumed. Even Fifth Grade children can learn 
to read graphs quite readily if care is taken to explain the 
scale, and they can make simple graphs with an easy scale. 


To give an opportunity to use judgment as to which tools 
to use in finding many kinds of data, a miscellaneous list 
of questions was given to a Seventh Grade. It was given 
orally and the work was rapid. Seventeen questions were 
answered in twenty-two minutes. When five pupils had 
found the answer, it was called for. If, in their haste to 
be among the first five, the children made mistakes, other 


228 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


pupils quickly offered corrections. The quickest told how 
they located the answers. The tool which should be used 
in each case is indicated in the following list : 

How many cities of the United States rank among the 25 largest 
cities of the world? (Appendix) 

Find pages which describe the formation of coal. (Index) 

Where is anthracite coal found? (Index) 

Where is Lake Agassiz? (Index) 

On what pages is sugar cane discussed? (Index) 

What is copra? (Index) 

Where is asphalt found? (Index) 

How many inches of rainfall do the East Indies have? (Rainfall 
map of Asia) 

Where are the highest mountains in Asia? (Physical map of Asia) 
Which is the longest river in the world? (Appendix—Largest 
Rivers in the World) 

Has it the largest basin area? (Appendix—Largest Rivers in the 
World) 

What is the Taj Mahal? (Index) 

Where shall we turn to study Mexico? (Table of Contents or Index) 
Where do most of the people of Australia live? (Population map 
of Australia) 

How much rainfall has southern China? (Rainfall map of Asia) 
What is peat? (Index) 

Where is Sumatra? (Index, text, and map) 

Where is Sakhalin? (Index) 

Compare the altitudes of Mount Washington and Mount Whitney. 
(Appendix) 

Each child was to keep a record of how many times he 
was among the quickest five in locating the correct answer. 
The interest in the search and the immediate pleasure in 
excelling, however, far outweighed the scoring which they 
often forgot. The teacher need not have introduced this 
device. The slower pupils showed need of further practice, 
which would come in the daily work. In assignments, the 


MASTERY OF CERTAIN COMMON TOOLS 229 


teacher never gives pages but assigns by topics or problems, 
assuming a mastery of the use of the book. 

The skill in the use of such tools as tables of contents, 
indexes, etc., acquired in the use of their textbooks is 
applied when using encyclopedias, atlases, The World 
Almanac , and other reference books. 


CHAPTER X 


EDUCATION: “A PROCESS FOR THE 
CULTIVATION OF ATTITUDES” 

Ever before the teacher is the vision of the ideal student, 
the boy or girl equipped to study independently, intelli¬ 
gently, and with lofty purpose. Some days this ideal 
seems a veritable will-o’-the-wisp; days when all the pupils 
seem to have forgotten all the sensible methods we ever 
attempted to teach them. 

Those are days when there is something wrong in the 
atmosphere of the classroom, the teacher is overtired or 
worried or just “plain cross.” Ideals are elusive. Boys 
and girls are sensitive, shrinking into themselves in an 
unfriendly atmosphere, their minds not functioning nor¬ 
mally unless in the classroom there is real comradeship 
between them and their teacher. 

The terrifying effect which may be produced by the 
mere idea teacher is strikingly illustrated by the following 
incident. A teacher was standing one day in the Natural 
History Museum, studying one of the lifelike groups of 
birds, a pelican feeding her young. The mother bird’s 
beak was open, the beaks of two young ones were within 
it, ready to receive the regurgitated food. 

Presently five little “street urchins” came up to the 
case, boys ranging in age from about six to twelve years. 
After a moment of spellbound attention, the largest boy 
said in a horrified tone, “Aw, she’s goin’ to eat ’em!” 

The teacher could not bear to have the good mother thus 
230 


EDUCATION: “CULTIVATION OF ATTITUDES” 231 


maligned, so she explained the situation, and added some 
facts about the habitat and life of pelicans. The boys 
were interested, even ventured a few questions. 

At last “de lady” passed on to another case, and behold, 
after her like the tail of a kite, came the five boys. For 
full half an hour the six of them went from case to case in 
the most friendly manner, discussing the characteristics of 
the different birds, the children asking numerous questions. 

What she said or did that caused the boys to make the 
horrible discovery “de lady” never knew, but there came 
a moment of solemn consultation amongst the boys of 
which she heard nothing but the words, “She’s a teacher.” 
They were not addressing her so she made no sign, but 
passed on to the next case. When she got there there was 
no tail to her kite. The words “She’s a teacher” had 
had the same effect as follows the ejaculation, “Cheese it! 
De cop!” 

The thought of the experience has always brought some 
embarassment to “de lady.” Was there, after all, some¬ 
thing in her manner that was repellant to the boys? 

Then she comforts herself. The boys had been inter¬ 
ested, they had liked her until they found that she was a 
teacher. Then she was on the same plane as the “cop.” 
Perhaps they thought she would “spring” an examination 
on them, and had no intention of voluntarily undergoing 
such torture. Still greater comfort comes from thinking 
over experiences in her own classroom, where the children 
certainly are not overpowered by the knowledge that she 
is a teacher. 

In her class one day, a simple experiment was being 
performed. A boy made a statement in regard to the 
result which did not tally with the teacher’s observation. 
At the moment she felt pressed for time, as she must hasten 


232 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

to leave the room ready for another class, so simply nega¬ 
tived the boy’s statement. Nothing more was said at the 
time, but the next morning another boy came up to the 

teacher and with the friendliest frankness said, “Miss-, 

don’t you owe Ralph an apology? I tried the experiment 
at home last night and he was right. You see it was this 
way. . . She listened respectfully to the boy’s account 
of his experiment, saw her error, thanked him heartily for 
having set her right, and apologized to Ralph as soon as 
he arrived. 

There are a good many classrooms in which a child 
would not dare to suggest that a teacher should apologize to 
a pupil, but it is only in those in which such an experience 
is possible that the best intellectual work can be done. 

In the establishment of this spirit of friendly cooperation, 
perhaps no one thing is of more value than the custom of 
laughing with the children, laughing over jokes and humorous 
situations, laughing over the numerous irritating mishaps 
which cannot be prevented. 

In a school visited several years ago, there was posted 
in the Teachers’ Room a printed card: 

Commandments for Teachers 

(Of Which the Eleventh is Most Important of All) 
Ethel Gessner Rockwell 

1. Thou shalt have other interests besides thy schoolroom. 

2. Thou shalt not try to make of thy children little images; for 
they are a live little bunch, visiting the wriggling of their cap¬ 
tivity upon you their teacher unto the last weary minutes of the 
day; and showing interest and cooperation unto those who give 
them a reasonable freedom in working. 

3. Thou shalt not scream the names of thy children in irritation, 
for they will not hold thee in respect if thou screamest their 
names in vain. 


EDUCATION: “CULTIVATION OF ATTITUDES” 233 


4. Remember the last day of the week to keep it happy. 

5. Honor the feelings of thy children, that their good will may 
speak well for thee in the little domain over which thou rulest. 

6. Thou shalt not kill one breath of stirring endeavor in the heart 
of a little child. 

7. Thou shalt not suffer any unkindness of speech or action to 
enter the door of thy room. 

8. Thou shalt not steal for the drudgery of many “papers” the 
precious hours that should be given to recreation, that thy 
strength and happiness may appear unto all who come within 
thy presence. 

9. Thou shalt not bear witness to too many precious schemes of 
busy “work,” for much scattered interest is a weariness to the 
soul and a stumblingblock to wee fingers. 

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s room, nor her children, 
nor her manner, nor her system, nor anything that is thy 
neighbor’s; work out thy own salvation with fear and trem¬ 
bling only don’t let anyone know about the fear and trem¬ 
bling. 

11. THOU SHALT LAUGH. 

When it rains and woolly-smelling wee ones muddy the floor; 
when it blows and doors bang; when little angels conceal their 
wings and wriggle; when Tommy spills ink and Mary flops a 
trailing tray of letters; when visitors appear at the precise 
moment when all small heads have forgotten everything you 
thought they knew. 

And again I say unto you, LAUGH, for upon all these com¬ 
mandments hang the law and the PROFITS in thy school¬ 
room. 

Any classroom presided over by a teacher who keeps 
those commandments will have the 11 right atmosphere,” 
be the equipment good or be it poor. 

And in such an atmosphere alone can the independent 
student be nurtured, given some mastery over the various 
methods described in the preceding pages and enabled to 
acquire certain attitudes of mind which are of importance 
to himself and to his community. 


234 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


In all our work there is one limitation to be always kept 
in mind; namely, the inherent quality of our pupils’ minds, 
their original mental mechanism, their individuality— 
call it what you will. We cannot make children think. 
We can provide opportunities for the thought processes to 
take place and a friendly atmosphere to encourage them. 
This is all that we can do. Each child according to its 
own make-up will profit by whatever is offered to it. The 
mind produces ideas spontaneously or it does not. Identi¬ 
cal situations yield absolutely different results with different 
children. It is certain, however, that no one makes the best 
possible use of his native endowment. There is no limit set 
to training children to use their minds to better advantage. 

The one means at our disposal is that of widening their 
experience. “It is the person of large experience that is 
able to think out a problem, while poverty of thought and 
poverty of experience go together .” 1 Therefore, do we have 
children collect and organize data, not in order to amass 
and retain vast numbers of facts, but in order that from the 
associated ideas, new ideas may emerge. 

But however skillfully the teacher may play the role of 
“efficiency engineer” in manipulating the conditioned 
reflexes with which her pupils’ minds are built up, she is 
not doing them the greatest service unless, as rapidly as 
they can comprehend, she is acquainting them with the 
workings of their own mental machinery and showing them 
how to be masters of it. Quite young children can under¬ 
stand the essential meaning in many of the illustrations 
given by such authors as Burnham and Dorsey. 2 They 

1 Goddard, Henry H., The Psychology of the Normal and Subnormal, p. 161. 

Dodd, Mead & Co., 1919. 

2 Burnham, William H., The Normal Mind . D. Appleton and Co., 1924. 

Dorsey, George A., Why We Behave Like Human Beings. Harper and 

Brothers, 1925. 


EDUCATION: “CULTIVATION OF ATTITUDES” 235 


can understand that their mental processes and therefore 
their “opinions” are actually reflexes conditioned by their 
previous experiences, and, therefore, that it is at once their 
opportunity and their duty to enrich their own experience 
as far as possible. The absurdity of generalizing from one 
experience, basing upon it prejudiced opinion, likes and 
dislikes, etc., can be pointed out to quite young children. 
They will see it in an instance such as the following, 
especially if told that the little girl was their teacher. 

A very little girl was taken by her parents to the Palisades 
above the Hudson. Too young to appreciate the grand 
panorama, she was left safely playing near the carriage, 
while her parents stood on the edge of the great cliff. A 
wasp stung the child, poisoning her severely. From this 
one experience she judged that she would always be stung 
if she went to the Palisades, and it was a long time before 
she could be persuaded to go again. 

Naturally it is harder for children to detect instances 
of their own faulty reasoning. A conclusion reached from 
all known data feels so right, is to the reasoner so convincing. 
What we must strive to do is to get children’s cooperation 
in habitually suspending judgment until a wide range of 
data has been collected and organized. Repeatedly we 
must force the pupil to say to himself, “Considering this 
and this fact, I have formed such an opinion, but are there 
not that and that and that still to be investigated which 
may change my view? ” 

There are many attitudes besides the suspended judg¬ 
ment, initiative, perseverance, etc., to which reference has 
continually been made, which it is the teacher’s duty to 
develop in the child. But greater still is her obligation to 
train her pupils to foster these in themselves. Repeatedly 
do child students need to be reminded of the possibility 


236 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


of making themselves interested in required material which 
may at first seem dull, and of their responsibility for doing 
so. 

As already stated, an understanding of the purpose of a 
lesson is a necessary factor in disposing a pupil to respond 
whole-heartedly to the instruction. The pupils themselves 
should understand this. They should be told not to blame 
the teacher if they do not understand why they are to do 
a certain thing, and do not let it be known that they do not 
understand, that it is just common sense to form the habit 
of working with a definite purpose in mind. 

From interest in the work itself, to interest in improve¬ 
ment on the part of the worker is but a step, but it is an 
important one. Much can be done along this line by 
regularly graphing such subjects as silent reading, the 
mechanical processes in mathematics, etc. The test of 
improvement in many subjects is more subjective. When 
only the teacher expresses an opinion as to the value of a 
recitation or written exercise the children do not grow in 
the power of self-criticism. It is helpful, after a written 
test, to have each child compare his answers with the text 
and write his own estimate of the value of his work. There 
should come a time when a child should be ashamed to 
say of a piece of work, “I don’t know whether it is good or 
not.” 

Children should come to realize that the greatest reward 
they can win through study is the pleasure that comes 
through the sense of power gained, and the ability to use 
this power for the benefit of others. The sense in which 
we are using the word reward in connection with study 
habits is well illustrated in the statement in the chapter 
on “Self-Expression Through Composition,” “The pleasure 
that comes to one who is able to hold the interest of the 


EDUCATION: “CULTIVATION OF ATTITUDES” 237 


class all the while he is talking is reward enough, and the 
dissatisfaction of the one who fails is punishment enough.” 

Another attitude toward life and work concerning which 
the teacher should not only be very watchful but for which 
she should steadily train the children to feel responsible is 
the tendency to waste energy in foolish over-enthusiasm 
which cannot persist. 

With the new freedom in school procedure and the 
recognition of the importance of interest there arises a 
danger, that of confusing great emotional excitement with 
real satisfaction. We are all familiar with the fact that 
the extremely excitable person frequently proves to have 
less depth of feeling than the quiet, apparently unresponsive 
individual. We know also that the “same individual 
becomes, on the average, less excited in his work, the 
better he learns to work.” 3 

Many a study project is marred by over-excitement on 
the part of the teacher, or pupils, or both. Swept on by 
the enthusiastic introduction to some project, children will 
undertake it when they have no abiding interest in it, and 
then must either be allowed to give it up or forced to go 
on with it “against the grain.” In neither case are proper 
habits being established; indeed, much may be torn down 
which previously has been built up with infinite pains. 

Where children are given free choice of projects, that 
choice should be made thoughtfully. It is well to let 
several days elapse before a final decision is reached, to 
form the habit of considering and reconsidering the pros 
and cons before casting the die. 

Once the decision is made, the children should go about 
their work energetically but without too much jubilant 

3 Thorndike, Edward L., Educational Psychology , Vol II, p. 228. Teachers 
College, Columbia University Press, 1921. 


238 


TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 


demonstration. They can be made to understand that 
such manifestions of excitement use up nervous energy 
which might better be expended upon carrying out the 
project, and should be helped to train themselves to 
suppress these. 

More devastating than joyous excitement is worry. Not 
infrequently a parent speaks with pride of the fact that 
his child is “so conscientious and worries so much about 
his lessons.” The worrying student becomes the neuras¬ 
thenic adult, suffering from “mental paralysis.” This 
should be made plain to the parent and the child should be 
made to understand that worrying wastes energy and leads 
to inefficiency. If a child finds himself unable to stop 
worrying about his work he should seek help to find out 
why he worries, not go on and establish a permanent 
attitude of worry. 

Thus we see that the ideal students of the teacher’s 
vision have habituated themselves to certain permanent 
attitudes; to working purposefully and calmly without 
worry; to analyzing any subject matter with which they 
may be called upon to deal; to estimating ethical values; 
to questioning the validity of statements; to suspending 
judgment until sufficient data have been accumulated to 
justify generalization. 

But habitual attitudes or reactions are habits , and when 
we are demanding that children acquire certain attitudes, 
we are demanding that they form habits. 

Every teacher knows nowadays that the business of 
education is the business of forming habits. It may be all 
too true that in classroom procedure psychological laws are 
very generally neglected, but let us assume that most 
teachers know something of the learning process and the 
laws of habit. At their best they are too prone to be 


EDUCATION: “CULTIVATION OF ATTITUDES’’ 239 


satisfied if they are planning situations, conducting drills, 
etc., in conformity to these laws. Here, however, we are 
asking that the pupils themselves be trained into conscious 
recognition of them. 

We find that Seventh Grade pupils at least are able to 
handle the idea of conditioned reflexes and are greatly 
interested in hearing James’s classic statement of the laws 
of habit 4 and in trying to apply these in their own lives. 

Children learn of great scientists and understand some¬ 
thing of the importance of the laws they discover. Their 
respect for the educational process is greatly increased 
when they learn of the earnest research of such men as 
William James, and they feel a reasonableness in the 
demands made upon them. Moreover, James’s forceful, 
figurative language appeals to them. Very little explanation 
is necessary. 

1. In the acquisition of a new habit, or the leaving off of an old 
one, we must take care to launch ourselves with as strong and decided 
an initiative as possible. 5 . . . , Accumulate all the possible circum¬ 
stances which shall re-enforce the right motives,. . . envelope 
your resolve with every aid you know. 

2. Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely 
rooted in your life. Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string 
which one is carefully winding up; a single slip undoes more than a 
great many turns will wind again. Continuity of training is the great 
means of making the nervous system act infallibly right. 

We all know that it is much easier to launch ourselves 
vigorously than it is to follow the second rule and “ never 
suffer an exception.” Like Rip Van Winkle, we decide 
that we “won’t count this time,” then we are tempted to 
allow another exception, and so on, until we have lost the 

4 James, William, Psychology: Briefer Course. Henry Holt & Co., 1893. 

6 For this and the following law, James gives credit to Bain. Ibid., 
pp. 145-148. 


240 TRAINING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

momentum of the fine start, and are back where we began; 
indeed we are worse off than if we had never made the 
start. 

3. If we let our emotions evaporate, they get into a way of evaporat¬ 
ing; so there is reason to suppose that if we often flinch from making 
an effort, before we know it the effort-making capacity will be gone; 
and that if we suffer the wandering of our attention, presently it will 
wander all the time. As a final practical maxim, relative to these 
habits of the will, we may then offer something like this: Keep the 
faculty of effort alive in you hy a little gratuitous exercise every day. 

This is hard doctrine for mere children, but we may be 
able to make them see that such a course will prepare 
them to meet life’s emergencies nobly, and to do so is the 
aspiration of every right-minded boy and girl. 

The expression “men are creatures of habit” sounds 
prosaic, unheroic; and youth longs for heroism. In time 
the young may come to realize the truth so picturesquely ex¬ 
pressed by Thorndike: 

There is no arbitrary hocus pocus whereby man’s nature acts 
in an unpredictable spasm, when he is confronted with a new situa¬ 
tion. His habits do not then retire to some convenient distance 
while some new and mysterious entities direct his behavior. On the 
contrary, nowhere are the bonds acquired in old situations more 
surely revealed in action than when a new situation appears. 6 

It is especially important to impress this idea upon the 
children with quick, brilliant minds. They react with 
gratifying alertness to first presentations but often they 
are shallow thinkers and display very poor judgment, 
lacking sufficient perseverance to acquire the material out 
of which judgments are made. Yet most of these children 
are looking forward to professional careers. They expect 
to become authorities and experts. There is a possibility 

6 Thorndike, Edward L., Educational Psychology , Vol. II, p. 28-29. 
Teachers College, Columbia University Press, 1921. 


EDUCATION: “CULTIVATION OF ATTITUDES” 241 

of their becoming instead tragic failures, outdistanced by 
their slower but more persevering comrades. Be the mind 
quick or slow, success comes as the result of application, 
the power of judging, through experience piled upon 
experience, analyzed, associated, built into a complex 
system. 

James concluded his famous chapter on “Habit” with 
cheering words addressed to the persevering student: 

Let no youth have anxiety about the upshot of his education what¬ 
ever the lin e of it may be. If he keeps faithfully busy each hour 
of the working day, he may safely leave the final result to itself. 

. . . Silently between all the details of his business, the power of 
judging in all that class of matter will have built itself up within him 
as a possession that will never pass away. Young people should 
know this truth in advance. . . . 

We must be prepared to be very patient. The develop¬ 
ment of thought power must necessarily be slow, because 
the background cannot be hastily acquired. But we must 
never lose sight of the fact that in our striving to develop 
in our pupils the proper study-habits and desirable perma¬ 
nent attitudes towards life, we must rely more and more 
upon the cooperation of the children themselves. Gradu¬ 
ally, they must become independent of their teachers, 
understanding how to direct their forces, how to apply 
for themselves the laws of mental growth. The chief 
responsibility for planning and directing remains with the 
teacher throughout the elementary school, but eventually 
the burden must shift to the pupil if he is to become the 
ideal student of her vision. 

A skillful teacher has been called “a genius at human 
engineering.” Training children to study means helping 
them to form habits in the control of their mental machinery 
so that at last they may become their own efficiency engineers . 






INDEX 


Aim of study, defined by Bode, 5-6; 
by McMurry, 12; as understood by 
children, 12; stated by textbooks, 
14; understanding of, a necessary 
factor, 14-15, 236; formulated in 
assignment, 15; to answer ques¬ 
tions, 16-17; in English composi¬ 
tion, 153-154 

Appendix as a tool, 223-224 
Application of knowledge, see Func¬ 
tioning of ideas 

Arithmetic, problems, 44-45, 131— 
135, 213; supplementary ma¬ 
terial, 44-45; lessons cited, 133— 
135; graphs, 135-136, 152; formal 
processes, 212-213 
Assignment, importance of, 15-17, 

31 

Assimilation, proof of, 127; habit of 
self-testing for degree of, 128; 
doing as a test of, 129, 138-145; 
foundation for originality, 131; 
doing as a goal of, 145-152 
Atmosphere of classroom, 125-126, 
167, 232-233 

Attitudes, stimulating questioning 
attitude, 12-30; initiative—basis 
of leadership, 32; of purposeful 
study, 15, 241; of suspended 
judgment, 56-57, 235; of interest, 
117-118, 235-236; toward arith¬ 
metic, 131-132; education, the 
cultivation of attitudes, 230-241; 
of excitement, 237-238; of worry, 
238 

Bain, James, laws of habit, 239 
Binet scale, 46 
Book reviews, 154, 160-163 
Books, gathering data from, 39-45 

243 


Brilliant children often shallow 
thinkers, 240 

Browning, Robert, quoted, 153 
Budgeting time, 94-99 
Burnham, William H., time element 
in memorizing, 116; conditional 
reflexes, 234 

Chubb, Percival, Festivals and Plays 
in School and Elsewhere , 143 
Clearness, in composition, 178-179 
Commandments for teachers, 232- 
233 

Composition, chapters dealing with, 
153-210; chief purpose, self-ex¬ 
pression, 153; organization, 155; 
oral, 156-157, 160, 164-165, 207; 
reproduction, 157-159; lessons 
cited, 158,160-171, 183-198, 200- 
210; book reviews, 160-163; de¬ 
scription, 163-164; current topics, 
164-167; originality, 167-178; 
“Juvenile Theses,” 167-181; 
quoting, 171-172; plagiarism, 172— 
174; story form, 175-178; clear¬ 
ness of expression, 178-179; unity, 
179; imagination, 182-210; per¬ 
sonification, 182-199; identifica¬ 
tion, 199-210 

Conditioned reflexes, 234-235, 239 
Cramming, organization a preven¬ 
tive, 123-124 

Curiosity, initiates projects, 17 
Current topics, discussed in ethics 
lessons, 150-152; used as subjects 
of composition, 164-167 
Curtis, George William, quoted, 126 

Description, in English composition, 
163-164 



244 


INDEX 


Dewey, John, perfunctory learning 
illustrated, 7; the recitation, a so¬ 
cial meeting place, 139 
Diagrams, in note-taking, 68, 73; 

textbook aids, 227 
Dictionary lessons, 217-222 
Dorsey, George A., conditioned re¬ 
flexes, 234 

Dramatization, 142-145 
Drill, for retention, 130; to free 
children for intellectual pursuits, 
211-212; self-drill, 212; on text¬ 
book aids, 227-229 
Drudgery uncomplainingly under¬ 
taken, 12-13 

Earhart, Lida B., association of 
ideas, 58; rational memorizing, 
108 

“Efficiency engineers,” teachers as, 
234; pupils as, 241 
Encyclopedia, use of, taught, 188- 
190 

English, see Composition; formal 
processes, 213-216 
Ethical expression the highest goal 
of learning, 148-152 
Excitement, 237-238 
Excursions, 53-56 
Experience, gathering data from, 
32-35, 42, 155; basis of thought, 
234-235 

Experiments, 51-53 

Formal processes, standard tests of, 
139-140; in arithmetic, 212-213; 
in English, 213-216; use of time 
saved from, 216-217 
Freeman, Frank M., Mental Tests , 
139 

Functioning of ideas, knowledge ap¬ 
plied to new situations, 37-39, 
131-137; use of ideas defined, 129; 
doing as a process of learning, 130- 
138; doing as a test of learning, 
138-145; doing as a goal of learn¬ 
ing, 145-152 


Gathering data, sources, 31-32; 
from experience, 32-37, 42, 155; 
from books, 36-45; from illus¬ 
trative material, 45-51; from ex¬ 
periments, 51-53; on excursions, 
53-56 

Geography, lessons cited, 16, 28-29, 
40-41, 44, 48-50, 55-56, 60-67, 
141-142,223-228; rules for solving 
problems, 19-20; supplementary 
reading, 43-44; picture study, 46- 
49; moving pictures, 49-51; ex¬ 
cursions, 55-56; locational, 120- 
121; weather predictions, 140-142; 
textbook aids, 222-229 

Goddard, Henry H., poverty of 
thought, 234 

Graphs, 135-136, 152, 227 

Habit, of studying for power, 28; of 
introspection, 34; of working pur' 
posefully, 236; laws of, 238-241 

Hall-Quest, Alfred L., application of 
ideas, 129; examinations, 138 

Hillyer, V. M., memorizing dates, 
100-108 

History, children’s questions an¬ 
swered, 21-28; lessons cited, 21- 
27, 33-37, 41-42, 69-86, 119-120, 
124-125; supplementary reading, 
43-44; picture study, 46-49; 
moving pictures, 49-51; memo¬ 
rizing dates, 105-108; furnishes 
topics for composition, 130-131, 
207-209; historic appreciation, 
147-148 

Ideals, 2 

Ideas, use of, see Functioning of ideas 

Identification in English composi¬ 
tion, 199-210 

Illustrative material, still pictures, 
45-49; moving pictures, 49-51 

Imagination supplementing data 
from books, 35-37, 155 

Imaginative identification, the basis 
of sympathetic understanding, 


INDEX 


245 


166-167; resulting in infantile 
fantasy, 175-177 

Imaginative writing, 182-210 

Index as a tool, 222-223 

Initiative, the basis of leadership, 
31-32- 

Interest, increased by purposeful 
study, 16; children’s responsibil¬ 
ity for becoming interested, 117- 
118, 125-126, 235-236; teacher’s 
responsibility for, 125-126 

Introspection, habit of, 32-38 

James, William, thinking the basis 
of memorizing, 110; rest periods 
in memorizing, 115; unreproduc- 
ible knowledge, 122-123; laws of 
habit, 239-241 

Johnson, Burges, “Goin’ Barefoot,” 
146 

Johnson, James Weldon, “Prayer 
at Sunrise,” 146 

Judgment, children’s willingness to 
suspend, 13; need to train attitude 
of suspending, 56-57, 235 

“Juvenile Theses,” begun in history 
class, 86-88; budgeting time, drill 
in, 94-99; English teacher’s super¬ 
vision of, 100, 167-181; children’s 
evaluation of, 103-104 

Knowledge, of child and specialist 
contrasted, 8-9; applied to new 
situations, 131-137, 145-152; 

testing of, 138-144 

Learning process, old and new con¬ 
ceptions of, 5-7; doing as a process 
of learning, 130-138; doing as a 
test of learning, 138-145; doing 
as a goal of learning, 145-152 

Lessons cited, see Arithmetic, Dic¬ 
tionary, English, Geography, His¬ 
tory, Memorizing, Note-taking, 
Science 

McCall, William A., How to Measure 
in Education, 139 


McMurry, Frank M., on motive for 
study, 12; on teacher’s perspec¬ 
tive, 30; on organization of ideas, 
59, 83; on study influenced by 
type of questions, 123-124 

Maps, 224-226 

Masefield, John, “On Eastnor 
Knoll,” 109 

Memorizing, teaching economical 
use of memory, 105-126; Hillyer’s 
plan, 105-108; built upon think¬ 
ing, 108-113; speed in, 114-116; 
good and poor memories, 116-119; 
application of principles to new 
material, 119-125; locational 
geography, 120-121; memorizing 
and forgetting, 121-123; cram¬ 
ming, 123-124; correct methods 
defeated by poor methods in reci¬ 
tations, 123-124 

Monroe, De Voss & Kelly, Educa¬ 
tional Tests and Measurements, 139 

Morrison, Henry C., individuality 
encouraged, 82 

Moving pictures, 49-51 

Note-taking, need for definite in¬ 
struction in, 67; lessons in, 67-74; 
rules for arrangement, 72; ex¬ 
panding notes, 74-75; using notes, 
74-75, 124, 137, 159, 160; out¬ 
lines, 75-76; need for close super¬ 
vision in, 76-79; “skeleton notes,” 
81; notes on material from dif¬ 
ferent sources, 81-83; see also, 
“Juvenile Theses,” 86-104; not 
all children successful in, 83-85, 
103-104; used in memorizing, 111- 
112 

O’Brien, John A., speed in silent 
reading, 38 

Oral composition, value of, 156-157; 
book reviews in, 160-163; current 
topics in, 164-165; impersonation 
in, 207 

Oral reading, 147 


INDEX 


246 

Organization, relativity in value of 
facts, 58-60; helping children to 
organize data, 58-104, 154-155; 
summarizing the thought of a 
paragraph, 60-67; note-taking, 
67-85; “JuvenileTheses,” 86-104; 
an aid in memorizing, 124-125 
Originality, in reproduction, 131; 
in description, 163; self-expression 
encouraged, 167-178 
Outlines, children taught to make, 
67-85; used voluntarily, 137-138 

Personification, 182-199 
Picture study, still pictures, 45-49; 

moving pictures, 49-51 
Plagiarism, 172-174 
Power, ability to use ideas the proof 
of assimilation, 127-128; pleasure 
in sense of, 236; of judging de¬ 
veloped, 241 

Prejudice resulting from inadequate 
experience, 234-235 
“Prescriptions,” directions for self¬ 
drill, 212-213, 216 
Problems, in geography, 19-21; in 
arithmetic, 44-45, 131-135, 213 
Punishment, 163, 236-237 
Purpose of study, as stated by Bode, 
5-6; as stated by McMurry, 12; 
as understood by children, 12; 
made definite for children before 
lesson is studied, 14-17, 236, 
241; in English composition, 153— 
154 

Pyle, William H., whole method in 
memorizing, 113 

Questioning, stimulating the atti¬ 
tude of, 12-30; natural attitude 
of mind, 17; discouraged by 
adults, 18; reestablished, 18-29; 
in picture study, 46-51; in exper¬ 
iments, 52-53; on excursions, 53- 
56; methods of study influenced 
by type of teacher’s questions, 
123-124; thoroughness of prep¬ 


aration tested by teacher’s ques¬ 
tions, 57; by pupil’s, 128 
Quoting, 171-172 

Reading, silent, 38; oral, 147 
Reorganization as a test of assimila¬ 
tion and as a goal, 130-131 
Repetition, see Drill 
Reproduction in English composi¬ 
tion, 157-160 
Reward, 163, 236-237 

Sand table, 142 
Science, lessons in, 51-53 
Scollard, Clinton, “Dawn in the 
Desert,” 146 

Self-direction, in memorizing, 117— 
118; in selecting methods of 
studying a lesson, 124-125; in 
mastery of processes, 212; in 
widening experience, 234-235; in 
forming habits, 239; in complete 
control of mental machinery, 241 
Silent reading, 38 

Special topics, see “Juvenile Theses” 
Spelling, 216 

Summarizing, the thought of a para¬ 
graph, 60-67; material gathered 
from different sources, 82-83 

Tennyson, Alfred, quoted, 176 
Tests, standard, 139-140; diagnostic, 
212 

Textbook aids, table of contents 
and index, 222-223; appendix, 
223-224; maps, 224-226; dia¬ 
grams, 227; graphs, 227; drill on 
selection of proper aid, 227-229 
Thinking, place of, in education, 1- 
11; memorizing built upon, 108- 
113; dependent upon experience, 
234 

Thorndike, Edward L., Psychology 
of Arithmetic , 132; habits in new 
situations, 240 

Time, budgeting, 94-99; saved from 
formal processes, 216-217 


INDEX 


Tools, voluntary use of, a proof of 
mastery, 137-138; standard tests 
for mastery of, 139-140; mastery 
of, frees for creative work, 211— 
212; formal arithmetic, 212-213; 
formal English, 213-216; drill in 
use kept separate from creative 
work, 214-215; spelling, 216; dic¬ 
tionary, 217-222; textbook aids, 
222-229 


247 

Unity in English composition, 179— 
181 

Use of ideas, see Functioning of 
ideas 

Watts, H. J., wrong association hard 
to eradicate, 112 

Weather forecasting, 140-142 

Webster, Jean, letter in outline form, 
80 

Worry wastes energy, 238 



























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